


The McCarey Files

by allysonandrews1982 (FonzFan82)



Series: McCarey [7]
Category: Happy Days, Original Work, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Concert, Court, Las Vegas, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-17
Updated: 2014-01-17
Packaged: 2018-01-09 02:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 68
Words: 50,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1140413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FonzFan82/pseuds/allysonandrews1982
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Introductory to the McCareys and their friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To see 'A Christmas Story' would help for info on this story time to time. It's my very first story in this series, so I hope you all enjoy!

The phone rang just then. Mrs. McCarey answered the phone and it was their son, Jay.

"Hi, Mom. Heard the news about that man who committed suicide," Jay said.

"That's our neighbor, Jay. Only two weeks to Christmas left. Why would he do something like that before the holidays? He might have died!" Mrs. McCarey said.

"Does he talk at all?" Jay asked.

"Not much, more quiet than most people. He is more on the lone side. He needs help, Jay," Mrs. McCarey said.

"Get him help. Where's his doctor?" Jay asked.

"Out here."

"Tell his doctor about it."

"I'm sure he's heard."

"Okay."

"Hi, Fred," Mrs. McCarey said, hearing Fred pick up the phone.

"Hi."

"How was your flight to Milwaukee?" Mrs. McCarey asked him.

"Horrible. That shot did not work. I was screaming the whole flight," Kylie and Claudia heard him say on the phone to Mrs. McCarey.

"Don and I thought it did work to keep you quiet, Fred. Guess it didn't," she said.

"Fred, Mr. Groiske came by and wanted your rent money. I told him you were on holiday vacation, so we paid your rent for you. Hope it's okay," Mrs. McCarey said.

"Go ahead. I can't pay rent like this when my brother's dead."

"We understand that, Fred. Don wants to say hello," she said.

Mr. McCarey took the phone from his wife and he and Fred spoke for a few minutes.

"Everything is in good hands at your apartment, Fred," Mr. McCarey said.

"I don't care about anything else, Mr. McCarey. I want my brother back," Kylie and Claudia heard him say.

"You can't have him back, Fred. You have to live without him for a while. Life is like that. He lived a long life with you. You two were inseparable. You are the only one left now. Time to look after yourself," Mr. McCarey said.

That was all the advice Mr. McCarey had for Fred.

"I want my brother back because I don't have anyone to solve my problems for me. Nobody can solve them but him!" Fred said to Mr. McCarey.

"Shirley and your family and I can help you, Fred. You know that," Mr. McCarey told him.

"You don't have the answers like my brother did," Fred said.

"That's right, Fred, but everyone had different answers to different problems," Mr. McCarey told him.

"My brother knew how to handle me like some people who didn't."

He talked to Mr. McCarey for a while longer, then they said good - bye and hung up.


	2. Chapter 2

Back in Washington, the McCareys were enjoying their childrens’ visit with them for the holidays. 

“Mom, Dad, you have to come and see one of my shows next year. They are unbelievable,” Jay told his family. 

“Why is that?” Mr. McCarey asked. 

“Those fans are nuts! They fill up the seats as if it’s an Elvis Presley show in the old days. Sold out concerts every time. You guys have to come!” Jay begged them. 

“Have you been doing autographs?” Karen asked.

“Got to. They go crazy at the autograph stand,” Jay said. 

“I bet they do. When do you do autographs? Intermissions, before or after the shows?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I do autographs during intermissions. That’s the only time I have for autographs, Mom,” Jay said. 

“Mom, since I haven’t had the time to watch TV lately, did they find that neighbor of yours that ran away?” Karen asked.

“Yes. Fred is safe back with his family. We talked to him. He did disappear because of his twin brother’s death. His brother died in a diabetic coma. How terrible,” Mrs. McCarey told her kids. 

Ralph was there, but he was listening to the story. He was waiting for the right time to break their news about their being married to the McCareys. 

They had brought their adopted boys with them. 

“Karen, we want to hear your story now,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“What story, Dad?” she asked. 

“About these children you have,” he said, getting to the point. 

“Did you get pregnant?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“No. I cannot get pregnant, Mom.” 

“I’m leaving,” Jay said. 

“No, Jay. You are staying. We want you to hear this,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“Okay. If you say so,” he said. 

“Why are you here, Ralph?” Mr. McCarey asked. 

“Tell them,” Ralph told Karen. 

“Mom, Dad, I know we did not tell you a few months ago because you two would disapprove,” Karen said. 

“Go on,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“To tell the truth, Mom, Dad, Ralph and I are married now. That is why you see two boys with us. We adopted them because I could not get pregnant. These boys are from California, so they needed a home right away. Ralph had to work on the day I was off, so I went to Los Angeles and the orphanage they were in, and took them. They are eight and thirteen. Norman and Jay are their names,” Karen said. 

“You’re already in trouble, Karen McCarey. You know how much we disapprove of Ralph Malph,” Mr. McCarey told Karen. 

“I love Ralph, Mom and Dad. That’s why I said yes when he asked me to marry him.”

They talked more about Karen and Ralph’s marriage. 

“That’s why we didn’t tell you two right away because we knew you two would disapprove,” Karen told Mr. and Mrs. McCarey.


	3. Chapter 3

Before Jay left that night, he called his parents and told them to come out to Las Vegas and see his show sometime. 

“We, will, Jay,” they told him. 

“Those shows are outstanding. Check it out when you come to Vegas. Bring Karen with you if you wish. What about your neighbor? Would he like to come to my show?” Jay asked. 

“Jay, to tell the truth, Fred has some issues with the public. He hates public places, no matter where he is, including concerts, doctor, and dentist’s offices. That might be a bad idea to bring Fred along with us. We’re going to talk to his doctor about that tomorrow,” Mrs. McCarey said as they were going to hang up the phone. 

“Mom, why does he do those things?” Jay asked. 

“We don’t know. We have known him since he moved here in the neighborhood when he was eighteen. Mr. Groiske says he’s the quietest tenant he’s ever known,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Does he really say that?” 

“Yes, Jay. We’ll talk to you again soon when your father and I are coming out to Las Vegas.” 

“Okay. Hope you can come. I will be looking forward to seeing you. I’ll save a spot for you two in the front row!” he said as they got off the phone. 

“Don, Jay really wants us to go to the Hilton Hotel and watch him perform his Elvis Presley shows,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I know he does, but we can’t get away now. It’s Fred we have to deal with,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“I know, and Jay understands. I told him to have a good flight back to Las Vegas,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Good. It’s Ralph Malph that I’m not happy about,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“I know how you feel, but those children! How can they do that right away after getting married?” Mrs. McCarey asked, still surprised about the two orphan boys.

“Who knows, Shirley? Maybe they’ll keep adopting them until she can get pregnant,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“Maybe that will happen, Don. They are doing what that Tammy Wynette song says, “I Don’t Wanna Play House” and that is exactly what she is doing. I don’t like it,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I don’t either. She’s got to stop it!” he said. 

The McCareys kept talking about going to Las Vegas day by day, so they planned it by going on Valentine’s Day. Mr. McCarey called Jay in Las Vegas and told him they decided to go to Vegas on Valentine’s Day. 

“Okay, Dad. Cool. I’ll save you and Mom front row seats,” Jay said. 

“We’ll be sure to check out your fan base on Valentine’s Day, Jay. We are still worrying about Fred right now. His doctor put him on medicine to help him be quiet. We’re hoping it works,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“Why did the doctor do that?” Jay asked. 

“Because everywhere he goes, he makes a racket. People stare in your direction and stare at him,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“That’s no good, Dad.” 

“We know, but we haven’t heard from Fred if this stuff is working or not, so we want to help him with this medications he’s on until he can get a hang of it.”


	4. Chapter 4

Valentine’s Day came by fast. The McCareys arrived in Vegas. They decided to stay for a week or two so they could watch Jay do a few shows. They were in the Valentine’s Day audience to hear Jay for the two hours he was performing. Jay first came out at eight o’clock on Valentine’s Day in an Elvis Presley outfit from an Elvis movie that he did a long time ago. 

“Shirley, that outfit was from Jailhouse Rock, the film,” Don whispered to his wife. 

“You know your stuff, Don. You must have taught Jay well about Elvis.” 

“No. I did not know much like he did, but he knew more,” Mr. McCarey whispered back.

Jay saw his parents in the second row of the auditorium. 

He waved to them, singing, “I went to the party at the county jail.” 

Then he went on with the rest of the song and then the audience was screaming big time. “Number forty – seven said to number three, “You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see.”

He stopped to say, “Sing with me on this next one,” to the audience. 

Even Mr. and Mrs. McCarey joined in on the audience. Jay was happy to see his parents singing with him as well as the audience. 

“This next song was a huge Elvis Presley hit. Happens to be one of my favorites as well,” Jay said and started singing “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog. Been crying all the time. You ain’t nothing but a hound dog. Been crying all the time. You ain’t no friend of mine!” 

When the song was finished, he grabbed out a guitar and started another song, which went like this: “It’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, go cat go! Step on my blue suede shoes. You can do anything with my blue suede shoes. It’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, go cat go!” he sang and the audience went wild. 

He finished “Blue Suede Shoes” and the audience died down and went on to sing “Burning Love” next. 

“I’m a hunk hunk of burning love,” he sang. 

He sang through that tune and the audience whistled during the song and started clapping and everything. The McCareys thought it was an outstanding crowd. He was going to do one more song and then go on to intermission. 

“One more song, and we’ll go on and have a break. This next song you can sing with me. This one is another favorite of mine. Another huge hit for Elvis,” Jay said and started to sing again. 

He sang “All Shook Up” for the crowd and the crowd went nuts and sang with him as he ordered in the whole song. When the song died, he left to take the intermission break. Mr. and Mrs. McCarey decided to watch their son do autographs. 

“Hi, Jay. Great show. That is some audience. They were really at it on “All Shook Up,” Mr. McCarey said when he autographed a picture for one of the fans.

“Thanks, Dad. What do you think of this “Jailhouse Rock” outfit?” Jay asked. 

“I recognize it because I saw the movie. Creative, Son. We are going to more of your shows this week. That’s why we’re here,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“Great. How long are you and Mom staying in Vegas?” he asked. 

“Two weeks. We’re doing it to make you happy,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You’re a big hit, Son,” Mr. McCarey said to their only son. 

“Thanks. This is the only thing I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. 

“We’ll see you on the stage in a few more minutes, Jay. Go finish up here and we will meet you back with the rest of the group,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“All right, Mom. See ya,” he said and watched his parents head for the bathroom. 

Jay had five more minutes to autograph, and get into another costume, before he could start singing more hits for that night’s audience. He was planning on singing “Love Me Tender” that night for the lovebirds. 

He left the autograph booth after signing the last autograph, headed to his dressing room, and changed into one of his favorite Elvis costumes from another movie from the sixties. He came out singing “Love Me Tender” before sitting down in front of the audience. When he finished “Love Me Tender,” he went on to “Heartbreak Hotel.”

“Here’s another favorite song that was another Elvis hit that I really love and still do,” Jay said and started to sing it. 

“Wise men say, only fools rush in, but I can’t help falling in love with you. Like a river falls, rushing to the sea, but if I can’t help falling in love with you,” he sang. 

The song went on until he went on to another song. 

“This next song is one that Elvis loved doing. It’s a gospel tune,” Jay told the audience.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,” Jay started singing and got through the song.

“I’m going through another gospel tune that Elvis loved so much that it won a Grammy Award for the record album,” Jay said when “Amazing Grace” was finished. 

He started singing “How Great Thou Art.” He finished the concert that night by singing Elvis’s favorite gospel songs. The last gospel tune for the night was “A Thing Called Love.” 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody,” Jay said when the last bar of “A Thing Called Love” ended. 

Jay let Mr. and Mrs. McCarey stay at his house the two weeks they were in Las Vegas. When he finished getting out of his costume for the night, he saw his parents, who were the last ones to get out of the crowd that night. 

“Mom, Dad, over here!” they heard their son call. 

They walked over to where he was waiting. He was outside of his dressing room. 

“Mom, Dad, you can come and stay at my house,” Jay said. 

“Son, we’ve already checked into the Flamingo,” Mr. McCarey told him. 

“C’mon. I do not want you guys to pay another expensive bill when you guys go home. This one is on me. You guys know there’s a guest room available,” Jay begged.

“Come on, Don. This means a lot to Jay,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

He thought about it. 

Right We’re checking out first thing in the morning,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“No, Dad. You and Mom will not have any clothes if you stay tonight. You two are checking out tonight,” Jay told his parents. 

Jay and his parents headed out to his car and he drove his parents to the Flamingo Hotel.

“Are you sure you want your father and I to stay at your house, Jay?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Yes, Mom. I sure could use the company. I would love to see you guys more rather than you two being in a boring hotel room,” he said. 

Mr. McCarey was checking out of the hotel and bringing their luggage to the car. Jay was talking with Mrs. McCarey while they waited downstairs for him to bring the luggage to the trunk. Jay already had the trunk open so he could help Mr. McCarey with the luggage.

“You should have been with your father, helping out with the luggage, Jay. He could use your help,” she said. 

“How much luggage did you two bring for two weeks?” Jay wanted to know. 

“Not much.” 

“Did you two like my show tonight?” Jay asked his mother. 

“Yes, Jay. We loved it. You sure do have a big crowd of fans out there. They sure loved “All Shook Up,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“They did, Mom. I love being in show business. I’ve always wanted to be in show business since I was in high school, remember?” 

“Yes, Jay. Did you know you wanted to be Elvis?” she asked. 

“No, but I knew it was show business, but I didn’t know I was going to be Elvis.” 

They saw Mr. McCarey with the two suitcases. 

“Jay, when you were doing your show tonight, I saw someone famous in the audience,” Mrs. McCarey said when the three of them were driving to Jay’s house. 

“No kidding. Who?” Jay asked, getting interested. 

“He was one of my all – time favorite singer and songwriters before Karen was born. He was popular in the seventies. He still is today, but also performs at the Hilton himself. He is on tour right now for an album that he just recorded. His name is Barry Manilow,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Him. I have been to a few of his shows. They are so crazy over at his shows, Mom. You should see those shows. They are nothing like mine, but sold out,” Jay said. 

Jay asked his mother if Barry Manilow was in the front row as well. 

“Yes, he was, in fact,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, are you still a fan of Mr. Manilow today?” Jay asked. 

“I still listen to his songs every once in a while, Jay, but lately I haven’t been listening to his music,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You must be his oldest fan, Mom. You’re ninety – three!” Jay said, finding that hard to believe. 

“Don’t remind us of our age, Jay. We don’t know if Barry has another old fan besides me, but if he doesn’t, I might be the only one,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Could be true, Mom. When I see him, I could tell him he has a fan that is in her nineties,” Jay said. 

“You two talk?” she asked, finding that interesting. 

“Sometimes, yeah. Maybe I could get his autograph for you, Mom.”

“That will not be necessary, Jay, but thanks anyway,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Speaking of which, Mom, Mr. Manilow and I are having lunch tomorrow at one. Show business talk. Maybe I could get you his autograph then,” Jay said.

“Please don’t, Jay. I am sure Barry is busy with his own shows he does not have time for autographs. Anybody else eating lunch?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Yeah. Two country stars named Warren Webber and Dolly Parton,” Jay said. 

“I love Dolly Parton!” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I’ll be sure to get Manilow and Parton’s autographs, Mom.” 

“Not necessary, Jay. We don’t need any autographs,” Mr. McCarey said.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day arrived. Jay left before one o’clock to meet Barry, Dolly, and Potsie for lunch. They were going to discuss music and passion. Jay was the last one to show up.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone. My parents are in town,” Jay told his friends. 

“We have not ordered yet because we did not know you were still coming or not,” Barry told him. 

“I was coming, Barry. It takes a while to get here from Henderson.” 

“I didn’t know you lived there,” Barry said. 

“Well, I do. I’m letting Mom and Dad stay at my house while they’re visiting,” Jay said.

“Your parents are still living? How old are they?” Dolly asked. 

“In their nineties,” Jay said. 

“Wow. I bet they’re healthy,” she said. 

“They are. So is their eyesight.” 

“Incredible,” Potsie said. 

They told the waitress what they wanted for lunch and got right to business, which was: music and passion. 

“Can we talk music and passion now?” Barry asked. 

“Yeah,” Jay said. 

They talked music and passion while they waited for their meals to arrive. 

“I heard you were at my show last night, Barry,” Jay said. 

“I was. It was really something, Jay,” Barry said. 

“Thanks. Did you like my “Jailhouse Rock” outfit from the movie?” Jay asked. 

“Sure did. That was creative. How did you know I was at your show?” Barry asked.

“Let’s just say a birdie told me. She is a big fan of yours, Barry. Make that the oldest fan,” Jay said. 

“Who is this fan? A fan of mine or yours?” Barry asked. 

Dolly and Potsie were listening to their conversation. 

“Yours, actually, Barry. She has been a fan since you started very back when. She is in her nineties right now. I’ll just say that your fan happens to be my mother,” Jay said.

“Really? Does she want an autograph or anything?” Barry asked, interested in hearing that his mother was a fan of him. 

“I’d like to get one for her. She and my father are staying at my house for a couple weeks. They are watching my shows. They have not seen me do them since I started out. I started doing Elvis when I graduated from high school. I was only eighteen back then and now I’m only forty – three,” Jay told the other three. 

“That’s pretty good,” Potsie told Jay. 

“Thanks. How long have you been in show business?” Jay asked Potsie. 

“Several years. I did start out on television with Sonny and Cher on their show before it stopped, but I didn’t like rock and roll, so I told my father, who happened to be in rock and roll, and I told him I wanted to be a country singer. You know what he told me? He told me ‘You remind me of your aunt Marie.’ Those were his first words when he heard that I wanted to go country,” Potsie said to Dolly, Barry, and Jay. 

“Who is your father?” Jay asked, since he did not know Potsie until twenty years ago.

“Donny Osmond from the Osmond family. That’s how I got the name Osmond,” Potsie said. 

“Look at you, Mr. Webber. I see you are doing well yourself in show business at one hundred years old and do not seem to retire. How can you do that?” Jay asked, finding that hard to believe. 

“I just don’t want to retire. My health is good, but my fans do not want me to leave and want me to keep recording, so that is what I am doing. I might keep doing this until my last day here on Earth,” Potsie told the other three. 

“You guys know what I’m going to do on my Sunday show next week.” Jay asked the other three. 

“What?” they asked Jay. 

“I’m not going to throw a concert this time. Not any other Elvis impersonator has ever done this one thing before. I’m going to preach and talk about the Lord,” Jay said. 

“Have you ever done this yourself before?” Potsie asked, getting interested. 

He knew about the holiness himself because he was religious also. He was not Christian like some of some people he was eating lunch with, but remembered he was Mormon.

“Warren, didn’t your family know Elvis Presley?” Jay asked. 

“Sure did. Our family is related to the Presleys because our daughter married a cousin of Elvis’s, but that cousin is dead right now. That’s how we’re in the Presley family,” Potsie told Jay.

“Cool! The Osmonds and the Presleys in one family. Awesome!” Jay said, taking a bite of his turkey sandwich. 

“Thought you knew that,” Potsie told him. 

“No, I didn’t, Warren. This is new news on me. Why don’t all three of you come to my Sunday show next week at eight o’clock and watch me preach?” Jay asked his friends.

“I’m not Christian, Jay. I’m Mormon, but I can come anyway and watch,” Potsie said.

“Okay. I know you are Mormon, but I thought you might think my preaching would be interesting to see. What about you two?” Jay asked Barry and Dolly. 

They were still thinking about it. 

“I am Jewish, but I will come anyway, even if I am not religious,” Barry said. 

“Okay. You, Dolly? What about you?” Jay asked. 

“I’ll come. I’ll watch you,” she said. 

“Thanks. After all, the four of us are friends, right?” Jay asked.

“Right,” they agreed. 

“Hey, guys, I just came up with a great idea! Why don’t we throw a concert together and have a record with us on it?” Jay asked. 

Everyone loved the idea and went for it. 

“I have tonight off and I’m spending time with Mom and Dad,” Jay said.

Before they paid for their lunch, Jay got Barry and Dolly’s autographs as well as Potsie’s for Mrs. McCarey to make her happy. 

“Thanks, guys. My mother is going to appreciate this,” Jay said. 

“I’m doing my show tomorrow at eight. Why don’t all four of us do the concert tomorrow?” Barry asked. 

“Yeah! Let’s!” Jay said, liking the sound of it. 

Even Potsie and Dolly loved the idea. 

“See you guys at the Hilton at eight o’clock. Remember my show, but we’re doing it together,” Barry said as everyone left and said good – bye.


	6. Chapter 6

Jay parked the car in the driveway and had all three autographs in his hand to show his mother and father. 

“Hi, Mom, Dad. I’m home!” he called once he was in the house. 

He found his messy house tidy. He was not very happy about that. He could guess his mother was cleaning house the whole time he was gone. He found his parents in the living room, but his father was reading the paper and her watching TV. 

“Jay, this place is such a horrible mess. I cleaned up the entire house. Don’t you have time to clean house?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“No, Mom. I have shows all the time that I am never home expect to sleep and eat. That’s it,” Jay said. 

“We understand that, son, but we’d like you to try at least once to clean up this place,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“I just don’t have the time anymore. You know how busy my schedule is,” Jay told them.

“Mom, I have something for you. Here,” Jay said, walking over to his mother and handed her the three autographs. 

“Jay, you shouldn’t have. Barry Manilow, Dolly Parton, and Warren Webber? What was he doing at the luncheon?” Mrs. McCarey asked, going through the three autographs.

“I don’t know, Mom. Just do not know. I guess he is in Vegas for tour. Did not talk. Just mostly talked about Barry’s subject. I had this one idea that the four of us would do a concert together and they loved the idea. We’re doing the concert tomorrow, but it was Barry’s show, but he said we could do it tomorrow at the Hilton.” “A show starring all four of you at once? Great idea!” Mrs. McCarey said, loving the idea. 

“Well, son, we’re here to see you do your shows,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“And you’re going to. You saw your first show last night, Dad. How would you two like to see your second show tomorrow night at eight o’clock with Barry Manilow, Dolly Parton, myself, and Warren Webber?” Jay asked his parents. 

They said they would love that.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day arrived. Jay spent all day at the Hilton with his friends and rehearsed for their show. He rehearsed his songs in front of the three while they did theirs in front of him. He thought they sounded good. Jay left for Henderson at four o’clock to pick up his parents and eat dinner with them before show time. Barry Manilow opened the show because it was his. He started out by singing “Copacabana (At the Copa”). When he finished, he announced that he had three guests with him for his show that night and asked Dolly Parton to do a number or two, so she came out wearing a wig and a beautiful dress that Jay had never seen before. 

“I’m working 9 to 5,” she sang. 

Then she introduced Jay and he did a favorite Elvis song that went like this: “A little less conversation, a little less action,” Jay sang and when he finished singing “A Little Less Conversation,” Potsie came out with his first number one country hit “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” 

The second songs they sang were “Mandy,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear,” and “Sleepin’ Away Till Midnight.” The audience enjoyed seeing the four of them together like that and went nuts. 

Potsie was doing his fourth song and asked the audience to sing with him on it. 

“This next song was my fourth hit record when I hit the big time and I’d like you to sing it with me,” Potsie said to the audience. 

He started to sing one of his early tunes. Jay even had the audience sing with him when Potsie finished the last bar of his song. 

“Okay, guys, I bet you know this tune as well as I do. This one is another favorite of mine as well as yours, I bet,” Jay said. 

He started singing: “She wrote above it: return to sender, address a note.” 

The audience went wild and he was happy to see that. He went on singing and got to the good stuff in the song: “And my letter keeps coming back to me. I dropped it into the mailbox. And my letter keeps coming back to me,” he sang. 

“She wrote above it, return to sender. Address a note,” he kept singing and the audience was still going crazy. Jay’s talent impressed Mr. and Mrs. McCarey. 

The concert lasted for three hours because it had four of the best singers. When the concert finished at eleven that night, Jay asked his parents what they had thought about it.

“The best one, Jay. Wish Karen were here to see this,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Why don’t we call her?” he asked. 

“You call her. She is busy with her so – called husband and children. She is doing that Tammy Wynette thing now, Jay. She’ll probably listen to you than the two of us,” Mrs. McCarey told him. 

“I don’t know, Mom. How come you and Dad don’t like that Ralph character?” Jay asked. 

“He’s too old for her, that’s how come,” his father snapped. 

Jay said good – night to his parents and headed upstairs and got on the phone and called his sister, Karen. She was still awake when he called. 

“Hi, Jay,” Karen said when she picked up the phone. 

“Hi, Karen. Mom and Dad are out here in Henderson,” he said. 

“What are they doing out there?” she asked. 

“They’re staying at my place, visiting me for a couple weeks. They are seeing me do my shows at the Hilton Hotel. They just saw their second show. They think I’m amazing at being Elvis.”

“Of course you are, Jay. Nobody is good as you and Elvis Presley at this stuff. You two are it,” Karen said to him. 

“How about you and Ralph coming to see a show or two?” he asked her. 

“Are you sure you want me to come out?” 

“Yes. Please? We never get any time alone anymore. Mom and Dad are staying in the guest room. You and Ralph and the children can have the other one.” 

“If you say so, I’ll have to talk to him about it and see if he can get away from his job and I can get away from mine. We will have to let you know. How long are Mom and Dad there?” Karen asked. 

“Two weeks.” 

“Okay. I will let you know in a couple days. I do not think we can stay at your house because Mom and Dad disapprove of Ralph. They loathe him.”

“They tell me the same exact thing. I’ll talk to you soon,” he said and they got off the phone.


	8. Chapter 8

Karen called him back within two days and told him that Ralph loved the idea of going to Las Vegas. 

“Does Ralph have a job that he has to go to?” Jay asked. 

“He does, but he found someone to fill in for his teaching,” Karen said. 

“I didn’t know he was a teacher!” Jay said, finding that interesting. 

“A piano teacher, Jay. We’ll see you and Mom and Dad tomorrow.” 

“Okay, Sis. I will pick you guys up at the airport tomorrow. Give me a call,” he said.

“Where are you going to be when we call?” she wanted to know before they got off.

“The Hilton. I am rehearsing for a show that is coming up on Sunday. Be sure to pack good clothes for that night. I am not telling what the show is going to be for that night. Want you to be surprised.” 

“Okay, Jay. See you tomorrow,” Karen said. 

“Okay, Sis.” 

They got off the phone. 

“Mom, Dad, I’m going to be at the Hilton Hotel for a few hours. Is there anything you two want to do while I am in town? Shopping?” he asked, looking at his mother. 

“I guess we could watch you rehearse,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“No! I have a show coming up Sunday night, and I want to rehearse privately. I do not want you guys to find out what the show is about until Sunday night at eight what the show is. If you do watch, it’ll be ruined,” Jay told Mr. and Mrs. McCarey. 

“All right, Jay. Have it your way. I guess we can go to the nearest shopping center and do some shopping. Do you want to do any shopping, Shirley?” Mr. McCarey asked his wife.

“Okay, Don. Fine by me. I haven’t done any mall shopping in ages,” she agreed. 

Jay had the car keys in his hand and the three of them headed to the car and drove off to the nearest mall. He dropped them off. 

“Jay, is Karen coming to see you perform?” Mrs. McCarey asked while he drove to the mall. 

“She is. Ralph and the children are coming. They’re flying out tomorrow,” Jay said.

“While she’s out here, I want to have a little talk with her about this so – called marriage,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, we’re not teenagers anymore. She can marry if she wants to. She’s not a little girl anymore,” Jay reminded his mother. 

“She may be thirty years old, Jay, but that Ralph guy could hurt her! Your father and I do not want him to hurt her. She could get pregnant like that!” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, Karen is old enough to take care of herself. Leave her alone. In addition, leave Ralph alone too. I know we never heard of the marriage until now, but don’t get so angry about not giving her away at any church wedding,” Jay told his parents. 

“We wanted Karen to marry a nice man her age and have children. What did we get? A red – headed freak that is fifteen years too old for her!” Mrs. McCarey screamed at Jay.

He was getting tired of his mother’s nonsense about his sister’s marriage with Ralph Malph. They got out of the car, he watched them walk into the mall, and he drove off to the Hilton Hotel so he could rehearse for his church service bit for Sunday night. He stayed in his dressing room for four hours his parents were at the mall shopping. The next day arrived. It was Wednesday. He was at the airport, waiting for Karen, Ralph and the boys to arrive. He had their luggage with him. He saw the four of them looking for their luggage. He gave a loud yell to Karen. 

“Hey, Karen! Over here!” she and Ralph both heard him call.

“Who is that?” Ralph asked. 

“That’s Jay. He is my oldest brother by thirteen years, Ralph. You met him over Christmas, didn’t you?” she asked. 

“I think so, but I just don’t remember him.” 

“Jay, you met Ralph over Christmas last year, haven’t you?” Karen asked. 

“Yup. I remember. Mom wants to talk to you, Karen.” 

“Great. I bet I know what it is about, Jay. And I’m not thirteen years old anymore,” Karen said. 

“I told her that and I told her to leave you and Ralph alone,” Jay said. 

“Thanks, Jay. You’re one cool brother.” 

“Thanks. You’re not bad for a sister,” Jay said as they headed down for his house in Henderson. 

“Ralph and I aren’t staying at your house, Jay.” 

“I know, Karen, but wouldn’t you guys like to hang out there for a while before checking in?” he asked. 

“Sure. What do you think, Ralph?” 

“Fine with me,” he agreed. 

“Ralph and I can stay here until Monday, Jay. He and I both have to go back to work Tuesday,” Karen said. 

“Okay. You can watch me do my show Sunday night.”


	9. Chapter 9

Ralph heard his cell phone ring when he and Karen were once in their hotel room that night after they finished their visit at Jay’s house. 

“Hello?” Karen heard him answer the phone. 

“Hi, Ralph,” Richie said. 

“Hi, Rich. We just got into Vegas a few hours ago,” Ralph said. 

“I’m going to be there too,” Richie told Ralph. 

“What for? Have you ever been to Vegas?” Ralph asked Richie. 

“No. This is going to be my first.” 

“What for?” Ralph asked. 

“Same reason you and the wife are, Ralph. It is for my column. My editor was telling me about this one Elvis impersonator and I should interview him for the column,” Richie said. 

“Who is this guy?” Ralph asked. 

“I heard the name was Jay McCarey,” Richie said. 

“Jay McCarey? That is my wife’s brother, Richie. I’ve never seen him myself, but Karen and I are seeing our first show Sunday night,” Ralph said. 

“Wow. I am going to be there the same night you are. My editor said she saw him five years ago and loved him and thought he was amazing,” Richie said. 

“We just got back from his house a few minutes ago. The kids went with us,” Ralph said.

“Lori Beth is going with me, so we have to leave the kids behind because they have school, so they’re staying with Mom and Dad on this one,” Richie said to Ralph. 

“Oh. We took our children with us,” Ralph said. 

They talked for a while longer, before they got off; they said they would see each other at the show Sunday night.


	10. Chapter 10

Sunday night came. The audience packed, talking as they were trying to find their seats. Mr. and Mrs. McCarey told by their son to wear formal clothes that night.

“Look at this place, Don! It’s crowded!” Mrs. McCarey said, taking their seats in the third row. 

Karen and Ralph seated them with their children. 

“Karen, we’re going to have a talk tonight when the show is over,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“Mom, I’m not a little girl anymore. I can tell you that,” Karen whispered to her mother.

“You may not be a little girl, Karen May, but this talk is important,” Mrs. McCarey said angrily. 

“I see some famous people, Mom. Dolly Parton’s here!” Karen said to Mrs. McCarey, seeing Dolly seated in the front row, next to Barry and Potsie. 

“I also see Barry Manilow and Warren Webber sitting with her,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“Who is Barry Manilow?” Karen asked.

“He’s a pop singer, Karen. He is talented. I’m his oldest fan,” Mrs. McCarey said.

They heard a gospel tune playing while they waited. They listened to “Only Believe” while they waited for Jay to come out. 

“What show are we getting tonight? Did your brother tell you?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I have no idea, Mom. All he said was to wear something nice.” 

“That’s what your father and I heard also. We’ll find out in a couple minutes what this show is all about,” her mother said. 

When the last bar of “Only Believe” died down, Jay came out dressed up in a suit and tie, carrying the Bible in his hand. 

“Hello, everyone,” Jay said. 

The only thing Jay did not know was that he was putting on a television show that night. There was someone in the room taping him to be on TV. 

“Tonight we’re going to be talking about our Heavenly Father. That person up in Heaven is the one and only,” Jay said. 

He heard some people in the audience begin to yawn. 

“Tonight we’re going to talk about Isaiah, chapter forty – four, verses one through five,” Jay said. 

The McCareys were impressed that he could preach! 

“We’re going to talk about why we came from Israel,” Jay said to his listening audience.

“I’ll read to you what God had said about this,” Jay said. 

When finished reading the first five verses, he explained to the listening audience why they had come from Israel. He explained about their coming from Israel. When 9:00 came, he went to the autograph booth for about twenty minutes or so. While in the middle of signing autographs, the TV studio went up to Jay and wanted to speak to him. 

“Mr. McCarey? Could we talk for a while?” the cameraman asked. 

“Sure,” Jay said, signing the last autograph. 

He got up from the autograph booth. 

Mr. McCarey saw his son talking with the cameramen. 

“What is Jay doing, Don?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“He’s talking with some guy, Shirley. I think he’s from the TV station,” Mr. McCarey said. 

She could see Jay’s face getting red. 

“Get out! I want my lawyer! I’m calling my lawyer!” Mr. and Mrs. McCarey heard Jay yell at the cameraman at the top of his lungs. 

They saw he had a problem on his hands, so they went over to him. 

“What’s the matter, Jay?” Mr. McCarey asked. 

“Get security, Dad. Kick this guy out!” Jay said, still angry. 

“Mr. McCarey, you could even out on your own television show if you agree to this,” the cameraman told Jay. 

“Out!” he yelled. 

His audience was watching him yell at the cameraman. 

“Dad, go call my lawyer and have my lawyer sue the TV station!” Jay told Mr. McCarey.

“I don’t know who your lawyer is, Son,” Mr. McCarey said. 

Jay saw Karen and Ralph were watching as well, so he had Karen call security, since nobody else would do it. She did as told. 

“Jay, security’s on their way right now to kick the TV station out,” Karen told her brother. 

“Good. Call my lawyer, too,” he told her. 

“Who is your lawyer?” Karen asked. 

He wrote down his lawyer’s name for Karen along with the phone number. He was busy being too angry to make a phone call to his lawyer that he could not speak on the phone.

“Jay, Ms. Clark is on her way over,” Karen said. 

“Good. She can help me!” he said angrily. 

Jay saw a security guard. 

“Great.” 

The guard, John, asked what was going on. Mr. McCarey told him what happened. John took the cameraman, whose name was Steve with him. The guard canceled the rest of the show. 

Jay was still angry when his lawyer, Penny Clark showed up to the showroom. 

“Hello, Mr. McCarey. I heard you had a problem on your hands,” Penny told her client.

“Yes, Ms. Clark. I do. It is making me angry. I want to sue some people,” Jay said. 

“I haven’t heard your story yet, Mr. McCarey, so I can’t do anything until I hear the story,” Penny said to her client. 

Penny could see the red on Jay’s face. It was so red that he looked like he was going to murder someone or something. 

“Jay, are you sure you want to sue those television people?” Mrs. McCarey asked her son. 

“Yes, Mom. I am. They’re making me angry!” he said angrily. 

“Mom, Dad, you wouldn’t believe what those TV people told me when I was signing autographs! They just make me mad!” Jay said. 

“Your lawyer wants your story, son. Better get it over with. We’re here to support you,” Mr. McCarey told their son. 

“I want to kill those TV people!” Jay told his parents. 

“Son, killing isn’t the answer,” Mr. McCarey told Jay. 

“I know, Dad, but that guy is making me so mad!” Jay said, still red in the face.

He walked out of the autograph booth and stomped to his dressing room. 

“Karen, go try getting the story from your brother. You’re a policewoman,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“I don’t know if Jay will listen to me, Mom. What about Ms. Clark? Will he tell her anything?” Karen asked their mother. 

“We don’t know. We will let Ms. Clark stay for a while longer, but you can get the story from Jay, maybe she will get something out as well. Ms. Clark, will you stay a while longer? Our daughter happens to be a policewoman. Let us see if she could get the story from our son,” Mr. McCarey told Jay’s lawyer.

Right I don’t want to stay around and not get any information from my client,” Ms. Clark said. 

“Go for it, Karen. It looks like he headed for his dressing room,” Mrs. McCarey said.

Karen told Ralph to stay with Ms. Clark and her parents and the children while she went to talk to Jay, so she did. Karen knocked on Jay’s dressing room door. There was no answer at first, but heard an angry voice call from inside: “Go away!” 

“It’s the police, Jay,” Karen said. 

He heard his sister’s voice on the outside of the dressing room, so he opened the door.

“What do you want?” Jay asked. 

“Mom and Dad sent me to hear what happened. You can tell me. It is my job to know. You know I’m a cop,” she reminded him. 

“Yeah, I know you’re the police, Sis, but that TV guy makes me so mad that I can’t talk!”

“Jay, if you’re thinking about killing those TV people, that’s murder. I don’t want to see my brother in prison,” Karen said. 

They were sitting on the couch in his dressing room with the door shut. 

“You wouldn’t believe what the cameraman told me, Sis. That is why I blew my top like that. He’s from one of the local TV stations out here in Vegas,” Jay said to Karen. 

They spent about fifteen minutes or so, talking about why he was so angry. 

“Jay, if you really want to go to court, go ahead,” Karen said. 

“That guy with the camera said I could have my own television show. No way, Karen. I love the stage. But that guy just makes me mad enough to kill him with a gun,” Jay said.

“No killing, Jay. We do not want someone in the family behind bars. That’ll ruin Mom and Dad,” Karen said. 

“Jay, this might hurt your career if you go to court. Did you ever think about that?” Karen asked her brother. 

“I don’t think so,” he said, hiccupping a little. 

He sounded like he was going to cry a little bit. She offered her older brother a tissue.

“You threw a good sermon tonight, Jay. You amazed us by doing that. We had no idea you could do such a thing. Mom was asking what show you were going to do, and I told her I had no idea. You mostly surprised Mom and Dad more than myself and Ralph,” Karen told her brother. 

“Thanks,” he said, tears coming down a little bit harder. 

“Are we ready to face Mom and Dad and your lawyer now?” Karen asked. 

“You go ahead. I’m spending the night here,” Jay told her. 

“Mom and Dad are staying at your house, aren’t they?” Karen asked. 

“Yes, but you can drive them. I am too angry to drive. Take my car and drive them to the house,” he said, handing Karen his car keys.

“You sure you want to spend the rest of the night here alone? What about your lawyer?” Karen asked. 

“Tell her I’ll try to make an appointment for sometime tomorrow.” 

“All right. Have it your way. How are you going to get around without a car?” 

“I’ll find a bus.” 

“Don’t forget Mom and Dad’s seventy – first anniversary is coming in two days.” 

“I haven’t forgotten. I’m throwing a show here that night for them in front of my audience.” 

“Good idea, Jay. Maybe Ralph and I will be there,” Karen said. 

“You better come. I want to sing Mom and Dad their love songs so they can dance.”

“Good one. They’ll love that.” 

“There won’t be any Elvis songs for that audience.” 

“Guess not. I will tell Mom and Dad what is going on. See you tomorrow.” 

“Okay.” 

“I’ll let you have a chance to chill out,” Karen said his car keys in her hand and they said good – bye and she let herself out of his dressing room. 

“Here comes Karen, Shirley. Without Jay,” Mr. McCarey said.

“She doesn’t look so happy right now, Donny,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You know I hate being called Donny, Shirley,” he told his wife. 

“Sorry, Don. It slipped out of my head,” she said as Karen headed toward the three of them. 

“Where’s Son?” Mr. McCarey asked Karen when she joined her parents again. 

“Jay isn’t coming, Dad. He is too angry. Ms. Clark, you can leave now. He is too angry to talk to anyone now, including you. He said to tell you that he’ll try to make an appointment to see you tomorrow,” Karen said. 

“Okay,” Ms. Clark said as she left the Hilton Hotel. 

“Did you get anything out of your brother?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I did, but he was too mad to speak, Mom. He was so mad that he started crying,” Karen said. 

“That mad?” Mr. McCarey asked. 

“Yes, Dad. He is too mad to drive you two back to his house tonight, so he asked me to do it. He’s spending the night here in his dressing room,” Karen said.


	11. Chapter 11

On the way to Jay’s house in Henderson, Karen filled in the story to her parents and Ralph on what Jay had told her.

“That’s going to hurt Son’s career if he goes to court,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“That’s what I told him, Dad. He was saying the cameraman told him he could have his own television show,” Karen said, “but he says he’s happy with the stage.” 

Karen and Ralph offered to spend the night at the house instead of Circus Circus, which was their hotel. 

“We don’t want to drive back into town just to go to bed and stuff,” Karen told her parents. 

“In the morning over breakfast the four of us will talk about your marriage,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, get over it. Ralph’s a nice guy,” Karen said. 

She and Ralph watched her parents head up the stairs and get ready for bed, but the children wanted to go first. 

“No, kids. Let the grandparents go first. They’re tired too,” Karen said. 

“Let the boys get ready for bed down here, Karen. Isn’t there a bathroom down here?” Ralph asked. 

“I forgot about that. Good thinking, Ralph,” Karen said and went to show Jay and Norman where the bathroom was on the first floor.

“One at a time, boys. Jay, you go first, since you’re the youngest,” Karen told the eight – year – old. 

Mrs. McCarey was watching Ralph and Karen help the boys get ready for bed while she waited for her husband to get ready for bed himself upstairs. 

“Jay was thinking of killing the TV guy, Mom,” Karen said. 

“We heard, Karen.” 

“Told him killing isn’t the answer. Didn’t want my brother behind bars and it would hurt you and Dad if he did do such a thing,” Karen said. 

“That was good advice, sweetheart,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

Mr. McCarey in the shower cleaned up. 

“Mom, when was the last time you and Dad talked to your neighbor in Washington? The one that hated the public,” Karen said. 

“Oh, Fred. Not since before we left here,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Would he like to hear from you?” Karen asked her mother.

“I don’t know. We are the only people in the building Fred knows, Karen. He won’t talk to anyone else,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Is he married?” Karen asked. 

“No, but his brother was for quite a while, but I forget what his ex – wife’s name was, but it started with H,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Yours and Dad’s memory isn’t quite sharp as it was when you were younger, is it?” Karen asked. 

“Not anymore, Karen. It’s part of getting old.” 

Mr. McCarey was not watching his step when he was getting out of the shower and the next minute, he slipped on his back and broke it so he could not get up. They heard him scream, “Owww!” from the bathroom stairs. 

“That’s your father, Karen,” Ralph said, hearing Mr. McCarey call for help. 

She went upstairs to the bathroom. Mr. McCarey was not even dressed or wearing a towel quite yet. She knocked on the bathroom door. 

“Dad, are you all right?” Karen called from behind the bathroom door. 

“No! Help!” he screamed. 

She opened the bathroom door, found her father on his back, and undressed. 

“What happened, Dad?” Karen asked. 

“I don’t know, Karen. I think I broke my back. Oww!” he said. 

She tried to help him get up, but it was no use. 

“Guess it is broken, Dad. I’ll go call the hospital,” Karen said. 

“Not the hospital. I can’t leave your mother alone.” 

“Mom’ll be fine, Dad. Ralph and the kids and I will be looking after her for you while you are in the hospital with that bad back. I’ll tell Jay what happened,” Karen told him as she helped him get dressed. 

“Owww!” he said, finding it hard to get dressed. 

Mrs. McCarey was listening to her husband screaming, but wondering what went wrong. She headed up to their bedroom, which Jay let them have for the two weeks they were staying in. 

“Karen, what’s wrong with him?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Call the hospital, Mom.” 

“No!” she said. 

“He needs a doctor, Mom. I’ll explain everything later.” 

Mrs. McCarey did not do what Karen ordered her to do, so she made the phone call to the hospital herself. Mrs. McCarey stayed with her husband for seventy years. 

“Snookums, what happened? You can’t go to the hospital,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Karen’s right, Sugarlips. I have to go. Broke my back.” 

“You can’t leave me, Snookums. What about our anniversary?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I don’t know yet, Sugarlips. We will see what the doc says about my back first before we can do anything fun, Sugarlips. My gift for you is back at the apartment because it’s too big, so I left it with Fred,” Mr. McCarey told her. 

“I always tell you I don’t expect much of anything these years because we’re getting too old, Snookums.” 

“Age don’t matter, Sugarlips. I hope it’s the right gift.” 

“Snookums, what about our talk with Karen and Ralph about their marriage tomorrow morning over breakfast? You’re involved, you know,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I know, Sugarlips, but you’ll have to do it without me this time unless you want to wait for me to come back from the hospital.” 

“I’ll put it on hold. I am coming with you. I don’t want to be alone in bed tonight.”

“Sugarlips, you need to sleep too,” Mr. McCarey told his wife. 

“Not without a husband, I’m not.” 

The paramedics were in the guest room with a stretcher and found the two lovebirds talking. 

“Mom, Dad’s going to leave now,” Karen said. 

“I’m going with your father,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“That won’t do you much good, Mom. You need your rest,” Karen told her mother. 

They argued about it for a second or so and Mr. McCarey ended up going to the hospital by him. That frightened his wife when she heard about his back being broken.

“Karen, your father was such a healthy man all these years. Why would he break a back after all these years of marriage? I just don’t understand,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

Karen tried sending her mother to bed, but it was no use at all. Mrs. McCarey wanted to wait up in case Mr. McCarey has to come back home. 

“Not tonight he’s coming back, Mom. Just go to bed. I have no idea when he’ll be home,” Karen said. 

So she listened to Karen and went to bed with Karen’s eye under her so she wouldn’t let anything happen to her like her husband’s back was broken. 

The next morning arrived fast. Karen called Jay at the Hilton Hotel and told him what happened the night before. 

“What! Dads in the hospital? Drive me over there now,” he said, remembering his car was at the house. 

“Mom was shook up last night, too, Jay. Let me drive her along,” Karen said. 

“I’m sure Mom would appreciate that, Sis. Their anniversary is tomorrow! I guess I can’t sing their songs for them in front of my audience now, can I?” he asked. 

“Guess not. You can do Elvis instead.” 

She gathered up her children, Ralph and Mrs. McCarey when breakfast was over and drove over to the Hilton Hotel to pick up Jay.

“Mom, stay here with Ralph and the kids. I’m going to get Jay and we’ll go see how Dad is doing,” Karen said. 

“Okay.” 

She found out that Jay was still in his dressing room. She knocked on the door and he came out. 

“Did you cool down at all last night?” Karen asked her brother. 

“I slept it off, so I’m fine now.” 

“Good.” 

Jay got into the driver’s seat and said hello to everyone who was in the car. He got his hello back. Their mother was in the passenger’s seat. 

“How did Dad break his back, Karen? Do we know?” Jay asked. 

She gave him all the details so he would know what happened. 

“Good golly.” 

They made it to the hospital and he parked it into the parking lot. Everyone was in the waiting room and he was talking with the receptionist and asked her where his father was. She gave him the room number. 

“Thank you,” Mrs. McCarey heard him say and rejoined them again.

“Follow me,” Jay said to his group. 

They followed him to the closest elevator and he pressed the number 3. 

“You mean to say your father’s on the third floor? What about his broken back?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“We will find out about that from the nurses or the doctors or whoever when we get in,” Jay said. 

They found Mr. McCarey’s room without any trouble. He was awake, but just got off the phone. He had asked Fred to send Mrs. McCarey’s anniversary gift by mail since he was in the hospital. 

“Snookums, are you all right?” they heard Mrs. McCarey ask him. 

“No, Sugarlips, I’m not. They can’t operate because of my age and everything,” he said to his wife. 

“Snookums, what about our anniversary tomorrow? How are we going to celebrate that?” Mrs. McCarey asked.

“I don’t know, Sugarlips. I don’t know.” 

“And our apartment in Washington? What are we going to do about it?” she asked him.

“Don’t worry about our apartment now, Sugarlips. I want out of this hospital now, today,” Karen and Jay and Ralph and the kids heard him say. 

“You can’t, Dad,” Karen told her father. 

They let Mr. and Mrs. McCarey flirt with each other for a while. Therefore, the others left the room and let them flirt in private. Karen had an idea about how their parents could celebrate their seventy – first anniversary the next day. She and Jay saw a nurse walk.

“Excuse me, Nurse,” she said. 

The nurse heard Karen say to her. 

“Yes, ma’am?” she asked. 

“My brother and I are visiting this patient with the broken back. We would like to set up an arrangement for tomorrow because our father is in that room because he’s the one who came in last night with a broken back and tomorrow happens to be his seventy – first wedding anniversary with our mother. It would break their hearts if they don’t spend at least one day together,” Karen told the nurse. 

“We’ll see what we can do, ma’am. The name, please?” the nurse asked. 

“Don and Shirley McCarey. My brother and I are their children.” 

“We’ll see what we can set up. We will get back to you. What is your name, ma’am?” the nurse asked. 

“Karen Malph.” 

The nurse left to finish up her routine around the hospital before she could talk it over with the doctors and nurses about the seventy – first wedding anniversary for the next day.


	12. Chapter 12

It was finally afternoon. Jay reminded himself he had to see his lawyer, Penny Clark about suing Steve Griswold, the cameraman. 

“Dad, Mom, I have to leave now. I have an appointment with my lawyer about suing that cameraman,” Jay said to his parents. 

“If you plan to go to court, Son, I want to be there if I am out of here,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“We’ll see, Dad. It all depends on that back of yours,” Jay said. 

“I want to support you, Son,” Mr. McCarey said to Jay as he was opening the door to leave the hospital. 

Karen and Ralph had to leave also because visiting hours were up for a while. 

“Maybe we’ll see you later tonight, Dad. Visiting hours are up. Make sure you get some rest,” Karen said. 

“Sugarlips, will you stay a while longer?” they heard him ask. 

“Well, if visiting hours are over, I will have to leave with Karen and Ralph. I’ll see you tonight, Snookums,” Mrs. McCarey said and they gave each other one more kiss before she left with Karen, the children and Ralph. 

Jay ran into the nurse that Karen was talking to on his way out when they came in an hour or two earlier. 

“Are you Mr. McCarey’s son?” the nurse asked. 

“I am.” 

“I heard from a Mrs. Karen Malph that your parents are having their seventy – first anniversary tomorrow,” the nurse said. 

“That’s right. They were high school sweethearts,” Jay told the nurse. 

“Wow. That is amazing, Mr. McCarey. Mrs. Malph was saying that they would like to celebrate their anniversary together,” the nurse told Jay. 

“Right. Can they?” Jay asked. 

“I talked about it with the doctors, but they’re still talking about it.” 

Jay took his car keys from Karen and drove straight to Ms. Clark’s office. He was only five minutes late because of his chat with his father’s nurse, whose name was Molly. He thought Molly was a pretty name. It was his favorite girl name. Jay walked into his lawyer’s office and told her secretary that he was in. The secretary, Polly, told Penny that Jay was in. She was expecting him. 

“Ms. Clark is expecting you, Mr. McCarey,” Polly told him. 

“Thanks, Polly,” he said and walked to Penny’s office.

He closed the door behind himself when he entered her office.

“Hello, Mr. McCarey,” Penny said. 

“Hi, Ms. Clark. Sorry I am late. I was talking to Dad’s nurse.” 

“I had no idea your father was in the hospital. What happened?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“He broke his back when I was spending the night in my dressing room at the Hilton last night,” Jay said. 

“That’s no good. I hope he is okay. Are they going to operate on your father?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“They can’t. Dad is too old. Dad’s only ninety – three years old,” Jay said. 

“That’s too bad,” Ms. Clark said. 

They got right to business. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the story last night, Ms. Clark. I was too angry about that cameraman. I gave the story to my sister instead. She’s a cop,” Jay said. 

“Did she understand your story?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“Of course. That’s her job.” 

Jay gave the same version of his story to Ms. Clark he gave to Karen the other night, but left the tears and anger out this time. She asked questions during the story. 

“You know what that cameraman told me, Ms. Clark? He told me I could have my own television show. However, no, I am not interested in being on the big screen. I am interested in on the stage in front of an audience. That’s what I’ve been doing since I was eighteen years old, and I’m almost forty – four years old now,” Jay told her.

“One of these questions I’m going to ask you that jury will probably ask you is what you were doing at nine o’clock last night,” Ms. Clark said. 

“I was signing autographs at the autograph booth when the cameraman told me I was going to be on TV and they never told me about it in the first place,” Jay said. 

“That’s when I blew my top.” 

“Where there any witnesses?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“Several. My sold out audience was there. Barry Manilow, Dolly Parton, and Warren Webber were there, who were in my audience as well. You can even talk to them about this if you wish to do so. Even my family witnessed the whole thing themselves. You can even talk to my parents and sister and her husband, Ralph Malph.” 

They went through the rest of the night and asked more questions about the night. 

“What is the cameraman’s name?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“I think it was Steve, but I have no idea what his last name is. He’s from the local station out here,” Jay said. 

“Right. I know the name of the station, so I can get information from his lawyers,” Ms. Clark said.

“I want to sue him for two million dollars for not telling me about my being on television, Ms. Clark. That made me mad!” Jay said. 

She wrote it out. 

“I’ll send this to his lawyers.” 

They talked for a while longer, and then he gave names of his family members if she wanted to talk to them about that night. 

“I don’t know any names of my audience,” Jay said.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll just talk to your friends that you mentioned,” Ms. Clark said. 

She let him go after an hour went by.


	13. Chapter 13

When he was home again, he saw his mother was there, waiting. Jay found a bouquet of flowers on the doorstep. 

“Who’s this for?” he asked himself. 

He saw that his mother’s name was on it. 

“Dad,” he said, seeing the names. 

He saw that the names “Snookums” and “Sugarlips." 

“Mom, you got something,” Jay said.

“From who?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Find out for yourself. I found it on the doorstep,” he said, handing the pink and yellow carnations to her. 

“They are beautiful, Jay,” she said. 

She read the note on the carnations. 

“To Sugarlips from Snookums,” she read. 

“That’s from Dad,” Jay said. 

“I know. I love it when your father calls me Sugarlips. We’ve been calling each other that since we got married seventy – one years ago,” Mrs. McCarey told Jay.

Later that day, the doctors decided to let Mr. McCarey leave the hospital because they had no idea what to do with his broken back. Jay was busy doing a show at the Hilton, so Karen and Ralph checked Mr. McCarey out of the hospital. 

“Snookums, thank you for the beautiful carnations,” Mrs. McCarey said when Karen and Ralph carried him out of the wheelchair and buckled him in the backseat with her and the children. 

“You’re welcome, Sugarlips. I see that Fred sent them on time, as I asked him to. I left them with him. I thought we were coming back home on our right date, but I guess not since my back broke,” Mr. McCarey said.

“Jay’s doing a show for a couple more hours, Dad. I am sure he will be home tonight, but we will find out about his schedule later. We need to talk about how to take care of you,” Karen told her father. 

“I don’t want to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, Karen. I want to use my legs again,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“We want that too, Dad, but it looks like you can’t walk anymore. Last night was the last night you did walk for the last time in your life,” Karen told him. 

“What about our apartment in Washington, Karen? Can we still live there?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Afraid not, Mom.” 

“Karen, Fred needs us. He does not know anyone in the building but us. We’ve been neighbors since he moved into the building when he was eighteen years old,” Mrs. McCarey told Karen. 

“He’ll have to find someone else to drive him around now, Mom, unless he can move in with his family where they are living now,” Karen said. 

They parked in Jay’s driveway just then. Ralph helped Karen with her father and the wheelchair. Mrs. McCarey thought it was a good idea to make the two calls to Fred and Mr. Groiske about the apartment.

Karen let her mother and the children go inside first so she and Ralph could deal with her father’s wheelchair. Mrs. McCarey told the children to open the door when Karen and Ralph had Mr. McCarey’s chair up the stairs to the door. 

“Okay, Grandma,” Norman said. 

Mrs. McCarey went to the phone in the kitchen and got Mr. Groiske on the telephone.

“Mr. Groiske, I don’t think Don and I are coming back to Washington. You see he broke his back last night. Don might think it will be a good idea we move to Nevada,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“All right, Mrs. McCarey. I’ll have the tenants help move your things to Nevada,” Mr. Groiske said. 

“That’s not necessary, Mr. Groiske. I’m sure my son and daughter will come to the apartment and pack our things for us,” Mrs. McCarey told him. 

“It’ll be easier if I have the tenants do it and have a U – Haul drive it to wherever you are, Mrs. McCarey. Where do you want your things to come to Nevada?” Mr. Groiske asked.

“Henderson. My son lives there.” 

Mrs. McCarey gave Mr. Groiske Jay’s address in Henderson and he wrote it down. They got off the phone and she dialed Fred’s phone number. He had his reading glasses on and he carried his book with him when he heard the phone ring. He was reading a history book this time, dating back to 1865. 

“Hello?” he said when he answered the phone. 

“Hello, Fred,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Hi.” 

“Fred, I wanted to let you know that Don and I aren’t coming back to Washington,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Why? I need you,” Fred said, starting to get sensitive. 

“I know you need myself and Don, Fred, but we have to move. Don’s back is seriously broken. The hospital was no help at all, so they released him just now and he is at our son’s house with us in Las Vegas. We are thinking of moving in with him. We will have to see what he says about that. Mr. Groiske says that he’s going to have the tenants help him move our things to Las Vegas, so would you help?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Okay, but things won’t be the same without you. Oh, I forgot. I talked with my great – niece, Daphne a while ago. She is the one who is a pastor. Do you remember meeting her a few years ago and stayed with me? Her husband’s a bartender,” Fred said. 

Mrs. McCarey thought about that before answering his question. 

“Is she the blonde that looks like you?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Yes and the same with my brother’s daughter She said to tell you and Mr. McCarey that she’s been praying for your husband. She somehow heard that your husband was in the hospital because of his back,” Fred said.

“Did you tell her about Don’s back?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“No, I didn’t.” 

“There must be only one person who did tell her – God.” 

“I can’t live in the same apartment building without you two because you were the same people that helped me get my career,” Fred said. 

“We remember that. Don was into insurance, but we thought we could get you a good job when you first moved in, Fred, but we didn’t know what your interests were since you didn’t like public places,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Something quiet, that’s what,” Fred said, starting to sniffle a little. 

“We’ll still be friends, Fred, but we’ll write you letters in the mail every now and then, telling you news and how we’re doing and leaving cards on your birthday and holidays,” Mrs. McCarey told him. 

“It still won’t be the same. Who am I going to share meals with when I go over to your apartment?” Fred asked. 

Karen and Ralph were hearing her phone conversation with someone they did not know whom. 

“Looks like Don just came in, Fred. Would you like to speak with him?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Okay.”

“Don, I have Fred on the phone. Do you want to say hello?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“If Karen and Ralph will let me.” 

Karen wheeled him closer to the phone and handed him the phone so he could have a few words with his neighbor. They spoke a few words, then said good – bye and hung up. Fred was getting too emotional to find out what was going to happen in his book, so he took off his reading glasses and put them away and cried for the rest of the afternoon.


	14. Chapter 14

Jay came back to his house for the rest of the evening. He saw that Dad was home. That was quite a surprise for him. 

“What’s Dad doing here? I thought he was supposed to be in the hospital,” Jay said when he said hello when he walked into the house.

“That’s what we need to talk tonight, Jay,” Karen said. 

Eight o’clock that night arrived. The boys went to bed just then. The adults stayed awake and talked about what to do about Mr. McCarey have broken back. 

“Any thoughts, Son?” Mr. McCarey asked when Karen finished telling what happened that day. 

Jay was quiet because he was thinking what they should do with Mom and Dad. 

“I’m thinking, Dad.” 

He answered Dad’s question again twenty minutes later. 

“You and Mom can move in with me,” Jay said. 

“Why not with me and Ralph?” Karen asked.

“Talk about that in private later,” Jay said, already knowing why their parents did not trust Ralph Malph. 

“Okay,” Karen said. 

“Jay, I called our landlord in Washington when we came home and said we were moving to your house because of your father’s back and everything,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Now you two don’t need to celebrate your anniversary at the hospital,” Jay told their parents. 

“Jay, what about a nurse? Don’t we need to find a nurse for Dad?” Karen asked. 

“I’ll start looking first thing tomorrow. Do you want to help?” Jay asked her. 

“Sure. Ralph and I leave for Milwaukee tomorrow night,” Karen said. 

“So you have plenty of time to pack,” Jay said. 

“Right.” 

Jay helped Karen put Mr. McCarey to bed that night at nine – thirty.

“We’ll leave the chair over there,” Karen said, putting it by the door. 

“I don’t need a wheelchair, kids. I want my legs,” Mr. McCarey told Jay and Karen. 

They both said good – night to their father and closed the door behind themselves and headed down the stairs. 

“I feel sorry for Dad,” Karen told Jay.

“I do too,” he agreed. 

“If I were you, Jay, I’d build a ramp for Dad,” she told him. 

“That’s not a bad idea. They’re going to live with me, you know,” he told his sister.

“Tell me why they’re living with you and not me and Ralph.” 

“They hate Ralph, Karen.” 

“I see that. They can still live with me, you know.” 

“Not for a million dollars, they wouldn’t. They don’t trust him,” Jay reminded her. 

While in bed that night, Mrs. McCarey gave her husband Fred’s message what Daphne had told him. 

“That’s nice of that woman to pray for us. I certainly don’t remember meeting her, Sugarlips,” he said.

Before going to sleep, they told each other happy anniversary and gave each other one big sloppy kiss.


	15. Chapter 15

Jay remembered that Ms. Clark was going to talk to Barry Manilow about the Valentine’s Day concert that day. He met Karen outside of Circus Circus and the two of them drove back to his house and helped their father get dressed and go to the bathroom and one of them fed him breakfast. After breakfast, Jay and Karen drove around town for the morning to see what kind of nurse their father would need since their parents were moving into his house. 

He even went to see if he could get some help building a ramp for his house also. He and Karen found the right nurse for Mr. McCarey at two o’clock that afternoon. Her name was Molly. They even talked about how much they were going to pay her and everything.

“You can come to my house in Henderson tomorrow morning to meet our father,” Jay told Molly. 

“Okay,” she said when she wrote down the address. 

She said she would be there at nine o’clock the next morning. Jay thought it was the perfect time. 

Jay offered to drive Karen and her family to the hotel later that afternoon so they could pack and catch their plane. 

“How are you going to care for Dad tonight?” Karen asked, not so sure. 

“I’ll manage, Sis. That nurse is not showing up until nine tomorrow,” Jay reminded her.

“Right. Hope Mom and Dad will like her,” Karen said. 

“So do I. I’ll tell them about her before they meet her,” Jay said. 

That evening, which was dinnertime, Jay fed his father and told his parents about Molly, who was his father’s nurse. 

“Molly’s coming over at nine tomorrow morning to meet you two,” Jay told them. 

They said okay on Molly’s arrival for nine the next morning. They were enjoying their seventy – one years of marriage that day. They sat on the couch and played their love songs on Jay’s CD player all day because they could not do much anymore because of Mr. McCarey’s back problems. The McCarey couple felt it was high school all over again that day. They had met when they were ninth graders and had fell in love since. 

“How did Fred fell when you told him we were moving, Sugarlips?” Mr. McCarey asked his wife when they were listening to “Married But Not to Each Other” on the CD player.

“He started crying a little and started asking all these questions. He didn’t want us to leave, Snookums,” she said. 

“Puppy Love” finally arrived and they felt younger than they did before. 

“This song made us young again, didn’t it, Sugarlips?” Mr. McCarey asked his wife. 

She did not respond. After “Puppy Love” finished, “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” started to fill the room. Jay was out for a run for a while and left his parents doing their romance thing.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning arrived and 9:00 came fast. Molly rang the doorbell. 

“Right on time,” Jay said and answered the door.

“Am I taking care of two people or just one?” Molly asked, getting confused and saw that Mrs. McCarey was there also. 

“One. The one in the wheelchair is my father. He’s the one with the broken back I was telling you about yesterday,” Jay said. 

“Right. Would you mind if I brought along some girls on some days? They are in training. I’m thinking of retiring in a few months or so, so I think it would be a great idea these new girls get some experience if they tag along with me,” Molly told Jay. 

“Sure. Who are they?” Jay asked. 

“Their names are Bridget and Monica,” Molly said. 

“I’d like to meet Bridget and Monica one of these days and find out for myself if they’re going to be good to my father,” Jay said. 

“Okay. They’re younger than I am, Mr. McCarey,” Molly told him. 

“Mom, Dad, this is Molly. She is your nurse I have been telling you. She’s saying she’s going to be retiring in a few months or so, but she’ll be bringing a couple nurses who are in training so they can get experience, so I want you to behave yourself when she brings these two with her,” Jay told his father. 

“Don’t tell me how to behave, Son,” Mr. McCarey said. 

Jay went around to show Molly around the house after introducing his parents to her.

“Your parents are a cute couple, Mr. McCarey. What age are they?” Molly asked.

“Ninety – three. They were high school sweethearts,” Jay told her. 

“Wow. That’s a long time to be together,” Molly said. 

“I know. I have a younger sister, too. I bet my dad will be telling you nurses a lot of stories,” Jay said. 

“All the men and women I’ve taken care of all these years have told me interesting stories. I wouldn’t mind hearing new ones,” Molly said. 

“My parents think they’re still in high school. Yesterday was their seventy – first wedding anniversary. They sure looked like they were in high school all over again,” Jay told Molly, showing her where the bathroom was. 

Jay remembered that he was going to have lunch with Barry at twelve, so he was going to leave when he and Molly done with the tour of the house. 

“The construction people are coming by this afternoon so they could get started building the ramp for Dad, so let them in,” Jay told Molly. 

“Where are you going to be?” Molly asked. 

“I’m going to be at the gym, have an appointment with my lawyer, and lunch with a friend of mine, so I’ll be gone for the day at the least,” Jay told her. 

“Okay.” 

He gave her his cell phone number in case she needed to reach him. 

“I’ll be on my cell if you need me,” he told her as he headed out of the house when the tour of the house was finished. 

“Okay, Mr. McCarey,” Molly said as she watched him walk to his car and drive off.

“Where did Jay go?” Mrs. McCarey asked Molly. 

“He left for a few hours,” Molly told her. 

He went to the gym first and worked out until the lunch hour arrived. He brought along his headphones so he could listen to his music. While at the house, Molly made some coffee for herself and the married couple. 

“Are you married, Molly?” Mrs. McCarey asked as they watched her make coffee.

“Divorced,” Molly said. 

“Seventy – one years of marriage. That is good. My parents were married for forty, then they passed away after that,” Molly told the McCareys. 

“What jobs did your parents have?” Mr. McCarey asked. 

“Dad was a banker and Mom was a housewife,” Molly told the couple watching her make coffee. 

“Don was with an insurance company, so he did that for an amount of how many years was that, Don?” Mrs. McCarey asked her husband. 

“I think it was over forty,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“Seems about right,” Mrs. McCarey said, agreeing to what her husband said. 

“Insurance sounds like a hard job,” Molly said. 

“It is, but someone has to do it,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“That’s the truth,” Molly said. 

She asked the couple if they would like some coffee. They said maybe a cup or two.

“How did you two meet each other?” Molly asked them. 

“In high school. One of Don’s friends introduced us, and it was love at first sight. Wasn’t it, Snookums?” Mrs. McCarey asked her husband. 

“Sure was, and still is, Sugarlips,” he said, and the two of them gave each other a kiss.

Molly thought that was cute. 

“Have you two lived out here in Las Vegas all your seventy – one years of marriage?” Molly asked. 

“No. Sugarlips and I lived in Washington all seventy years in the same apartment building in the same apartment until now,” Mr. McCarey said.

“Don and I couldn’t afford to buy a house of our own and have several children, so we rented a small apartment after we got married and the honeymoon was over,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I thought apartments don’t allow children,” Molly pointed out. 

“Our landlord was nice enough to let us have our children,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“We had a neighbor in the same building as us and he hated to go places all the time, but someone had to do that job. We even gave him a career, which he was thankful. He’s ninety years old and still hated going in public,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“Is he married and have children?” Molly asked. 

“His story is different, Molly. He is single and has an identical twin brother. They were inseparable for several years, but his brother died recently,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Wow. This is new on me,” Molly said. 

“Those two have the same first name,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I’ve never heard of twins having the same first name,” Molly said, finding that interesting. 

“Your son looks like he’s old enough to have a marriage of his own and have children too,” Molly said. 

“He’s too busy for marriage and doesn’t have time to date. He loves his job at the Hilton,” Mrs. McCarey said to Molly.


	17. Chapter 17

Noontime came. Jay met Barry at a salad place for lunch. They were not expecting to see Dolly and Potsie there, so they decided to join them in the booth. 

“What are you two doing here?” Jay asked, getting surprised. 

He was sitting next to Dolly and Barry sat next to Potsie. All four of them had salad bars. Jay was the only one with a Dr. Pepper.

“We thought we’d eat somewhere different today,” was Potsie’s answer. 

“I’m with Barry today,” Jay said to the other two. 

“Did your parents go back to Washington yet?” Potsie asked him.

“No. They moved in. Dad broke his back, so we hired a live – in nurse to help take care of him,” Jay said.

“Sorry to hear about your father,” Dolly said. 

“He and Mom are ninety – three. They celebrated their seventy – first wedding anniversary just yesterday. You should have seen them. They acted like they were still in high school,” Jay told the other three.

“My dad was single when he adopted myself and my sisters from the orphanage in Milwaukee,” Potsie told Jay. 

“Who is that pretty lawyer that I talked to the other day?” Barry asked Jay. 

“Oh. That is Penny Clark. I told her to talk to you about what happened on my Valentine’s Day show at the Hilton because I’m suing a cameraman for two million dollars,” Jay told Barry. 

“Why are you suing him? He’s a local cameraman out here,” Barry said. 

“He made me so mad that I couldn’t drive Mom and Dad home that night and ended up staying in my dressing room for the night and had my sister take them home,” Jay said.

“You haven’t told us why,” Dolly said.

“Sorry, Dolly. I will get to the point. The reason the cameraman made me so angry was because –“ 

He was interrupted by his cell phone. It was Ms. Clark, his lawyer. He took the call.

“Hi, Ms. Clark,” Jay said. 

“I tried calling your house just now, Mr. McCarey, but a woman answered it,” Ms. Clark said. 

“That was my father’s nurse, Ms. Clark,” Jay said. 

“I’d like to see you today,” Ms. Clark said. 

“I’ll see you when I’m through with lunch,” Jay said. 

“Okay. Where are you?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“At one of the salad places in town. I’m eating with Dolly, Warren Webber, and Barry.”

“Okay. Have a good lunch.” 

“I will.” 

They got off the phone. 

“Like I was saying before I got interrupted by the phone, that cameraman made me mad because he told me I was going to be on television and I could have my own television show. That’s why I’m going to sue him in court for two million dollars,” Jay told his listening audience. 

“That would make me mad if Mr. Griswold told me the same thing about my being on television without being told,” Barry told Jay. 

“That was my lawyer who called. She wants to see me,” Jay told his audience. 

He finished eating in a couple minutes, got up and said good – bye to the others, and drove to his lawyer’s office. He stayed with Ms. Clark for nearly an hour or two because they went through some information she had gotten through with Barry Manilow and some other people she had been talking to about the show Jay had thrown at the Hilton on Valentine’s Day. 

“Mr. Griswold wasn’t thrilled about the two million dollars you’re suing him for, Mr. McCarey, but they’re going ahead anyway,” Ms. Clark said. 

“He deserves it. What did he say about the two million dollars?” Jay asked. 

“He says that’s how he does his job. TV is his job,” Ms. Clark said.

“I know that. Barry thought you were beautiful,” Jay said when the appointment was over for the day.


	18. Chapter 18

She took the compliment. Jay came home around dinner time that afternoon and found his parents telling stories to Molly. 

“Sit down, Son, and relive the good ol’ times,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“I just got home, Dad,” he said. 

He realized he had not used the bathroom for a long time, so he headed up the stairs and closed the bathroom door behind him. 

“We remember the first time we potty trained Son,” Mr. McCarey told Molly. 

“It was work,” Mrs. McCarey said, helping her husband recall the time they toilet – trained Jay. 

“Every time he would sit on the stool and pee like a good boy, we would give him a reward, like a cookie or a new toy,” Mr. McCarey said. 

Jay heard what his father had said. He felt embarrassed about those kind of stories. Molly did not laugh at that kind of story, so she just listened. 

“Our daughter, Karen, took a little bit longer to potty train than our son. She wasn’t like Son,” Mr. McCarey said. 

He let his wife tell that story to Molly. Jay stayed upstairs until the toilet stories were gone. When they disappeared, he came downstairs again. 

“Dad, those stories are embarrassing,” Jay told his father. 

Molly started making dinner for everyone. 

“What are your plans tonight, Jay?” Mrs. McCarey asked Jay. 

“Nothing. I’m staying here and relaxing,” Jay said. 

“Watching television?” Mr. McCarey asked. 

“I might watch some, maybe read a little,” Jay said. 

Jay told his parents what Ms. Clark had told him. They thought court was a bad idea, especially Mr. McCarey.

“I need to go to court, Dad. The cameraman was stupid enough to put me on tape without telling me first,” Jay said. 

“And we’re going to court one of these days,” Jay said to his parents.


	19. Chapter 19

Ms. Clark decided to do court within a couple days. Jay had already known that, so they waited until the twenty – second to do so. Mr. McCarey wanted to go to court and watch Jay win. Molly drove both Jay’s parents to court on the twenty – second and the three of them watched. Jay had told Karen about the court date, and she wished him good luck. It was starting early in the morning, so there were many people in the courthouse. Jay found Barry Manilow, Dolly Parton, and Potsie in the courthouse. 

“They might ask you guys some questions,” Jay told them when he walked into the room.

“We’ll cheer you on, Jay. If you win, we’ll go out and celebrate,” Dolly told him. 

“I like that idea. My parents are here,” Jay told his friends, seeing his father’s wheelchair.

“Who’s the brunette?” Potsie asked.

“Dad’s nurse. Her name’s Molly,” Jay told them. 

“She’s pretty,” Dolly said. 

“I see my lawyer. I’d better sit with her now, so I’ll see you guys later,” he said, taking a seat next to Ms. Clark. 

The judge called the court to order. He looked like he was not very friendly, the McCareys thought. Steve Griswold’s lawyer thought he would start asking questions first, so he decided to ask Jay first. 

“I would like to call Mr. Jay McCarey to the witness stand,” Steve’s lawyer, Mr. Lewis said. 

Jay knew the rules of the game, so he went to the judge, and the judge asked him, “Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?” 

“I do,” Jay said and took a seat at the stand. 

“Mr. McCarey, where were you on the night of Valentine’s Day at nine o’clock?” Mr. Lewis asked. 

“I was at the Hilton Hotel, signing autographs for my fans. Your client came to me, telling me that I was going to be on television and I never knew about it,” Jay said. 

“How did you feel when my client told you when you were going to be televised?” Mr. Lewis asked. 

“Angry. I felt angry. I wished he would have told me days ago that I would be on television,” Jay said. 

“No further questions,” Mr. Lewis told the judge and jury. 

Ms. Clark decided to go next. 

“Mr. McCarey, what is your relationship with Mr. Manilow?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“We’re friends. We do shows at the same hotel,” Jay said. 

“And what about your relationship with Mr. Webber and Ms. Parton?” Ms. Clark asked.

“Same thing. We’re all friends,” Jay said to his lawyer. 

One of the jury members decided to ask a question. 

“Mr. McCarey, what is your occupation?” 

“I happen to be an Elvis Presley impersonator,” Jay said. 

“No further questions,” the jury member told the judge. 

Ms. Clark said, “I would like to call Mr. Steve Griswold to the stand.” 

The judge said to Steve, “Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?” 

“I do,” Steve said and sat down in the stand. 

“Mr. Griswold, why did you tell my client that he was going to be televised?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“Objection!” they heard Mr. Lewis call out. 

“Yes, Mr. Lewis?” the judge asked. 

“Your Honour, I wish my client does not answer that question,” Mr. Lewis said. 

Steve went ahead and answered Ms. Clark’s question and ignored Mr. Lewis. 

“I thought that would be something people would want to see on television was w minister,” Steve said. 

“Mr. Griswold, did you ask my client’s manager if it was all right if you could televise my client on television like that?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“No, I did not ask anybody. I went into the showroom with my ticket and camera like everybody else,” Steve answered.

“No further questions,” Ms. Clark told the judge. 

“I would like to call Barry Manilow to the stand,” Ms. Clark said. 

“Mr. Manilow, do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?” the judge asked.

“I do,” Barry said and sat down in the witness stand. 

“Mr. Manilow, how did my client feel when Mr. Griswold told him he was going to be on television on Valentine’s Day night?” Ms. Clark asked. 

“If I can remember, he was red in the face and blew his top. He said ‘Get out!’” Barry told the judge. 

“How red was my client?” Ms. Clark asked Barry. 

“He was so red that he looked like he was going to cry,” Barry said. 

Mr. Lewis had a question for Barry.

“Mr. Manilow, did you catch any of the words my client told Mr. McCarey when Mr. McCarey turned so red in the face?” Mr. Lewis asked. 

Barry thought about that question before answering. 

“No, I didn’t,” Barry said. 

“No further questions,” Mr. Lewis said. 

They were going to take a recess for lunch. Jay had not heard anything from the construction people how the ramp was turning out. He was not worried once about his parents’ things being moved into his house. 

Lunch was over and court was back in session. It went on for a few more hours that afternoon. Turned out that Steve Griswold was guilty and Jay was innocent. Both Mr. and Mrs. McCarey were proud of their son’s winning the court date. 

“We’re real proud of you, Son,” Mr. McCarey said.

“Yeah, me too, Dad. We should go back to the house and find out if your things have arrived from Washington,” Jay said. 

“I forgot about that!” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You two have been too busy telling stories to Molly. I did not hire her to listen to our stories about the past. I hired her to take care of you, Dad,” Jay reminded his father.

Mr. McCarey did not say anything. 

“Do you think anybody moved into our apartment, Don?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I don’t know, Sugarlips. I just do not know. Should we call Fred and see if he knows anything?” Mr. McCarey asked his wife.

“We’ll call when we get to the house. I’m as curious as you are,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“Who’s Fred?” Molly asked as they drove to the house.


	20. Chapter 20

Jay went to the house, but was in the lead so he could see if the moving van had arrived. The ramp was halfway through being finished. Jay was happy to see that. Jay told Barry, Dolly, and Potsie they would celebrate that night by going to dinner after his show.

“Mom, Dad, I have a show to do tonight, so I will be home late,” Jay said to his parents.

“All right, Son,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“Do you want us at your show?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I’ll be celebrating with Barry, Dolly, and Warren afterwards, so if you want to go, that’s fine, but if you want to stay here and unpack and talk to your former neighbor, go ahead,” Jay told his parents. 

Molly thought it was best that Mr. McCarey stay at the house in case he felt pain in his back.

“Mr. McCarey, may I speak to you?” Molly asked Jay. 

“Sure,” Jay said. 

They went into the living room while Mrs. McCarey stayed with her husband in the kitchen. 

“What is it that you want to speak to me about, Molly?” Jay asked. 

“Did the hospital your father stay in do any surgery and give him medication for his back?” Molly asked. 

“Neither. They left him the way he was,” Jay said. 

“I was wondering that’s all. The ladies I was telling you about when I started working here, Bridget and Monica, just graduated from nursing school yesterday. I told them to come over tomorrow morning so I can help them out if they get a job like mine,” Molly said. 

Right I want to meet these two girls,” Jay said. 

Jay’s show ran for two hours as usual that night. Another sold out show. 

“Hello,” Jay said to his night’s audience. 

He was going to sing “Are You Lonesome Tonight” for the opening of the show that night. 

“Are you lonesome tonight?” he started to sing. 

The audience went wild as usual. When the audience died down as well as the song, another song started and then “It’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat go!” Jay sang. 

“Won’t you step on my blue suede shoes. You can do anything with my blue suede shoes,” he sang, playing his guitar. 

When “Blue Suede Shoes” was over, he started to sing “Trouble.” 

“You’re looking for trouble, you’ve come to the right place,” he started. 

Then he asked the audience to sing the rest of the song with him, which they did. 

“Sing with me on this next one,” Jay told his audience who was there that night. 

He sang “Hawaiian Wedding Song” with the audience. They enjoyed that one a lot. He sang alone for the next three songs. He sang “Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art,” and “Guitar Man” by himself without an audience. 

He asked the audience to do another song with him and this time it was “Love Me.” He heard a lot of whistling during the song from the audience members. 

“Another huge hit Elvis had during his career was this one,” Jay said and started singing “All Shook Up” for the audience. 

When that song died down, he started to sing “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” The audience was quiet on that one.

“Wise men say, only fools rush in and I can’t help falling in love with you. Like a river falls, rushing to the sea,” he sang. 

When that song finished, he went to sing “That’s The Way It Is” and asked the audience to sing from the front row. He did ten more songs which were: “Long Tall Sally,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Peace In the Valley,” “Old Shep,” “Mystery Train,” “In the Ghetto,” “Memories,” “Fame and Fortune,” and “Viva Las Vegas.” During the second hour of Jay’s performance back at his house, Molly was busy with Jay’s father. She was in the bedroom with Mr. McCarey, trying to put him to bed when she noticed that he had passed away. 

She passed the news out to Mrs. McCarey about her husband. Mrs. McCarey did not like the news she received from Molly. 

“My son hired you to care for Snookums, didn’t he?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“He did, but it was your husband’s time, Mrs. McCarey. There’s nothing else I can do,” Molly said. 

When Jay came into the house later that night, he found his mother in tears. 

“What’s the matter, Mom?” he asked. 

“Have Molly tell you,” Mrs. McCarey told her son. 

He found Molly upstairs. 

“Why is my mother in tears, Molly?” Jay asked.

“Didn’t she tell you?” Molly asked. 

“No. What happened?” Jay repeated. 

“Your father died almost an hour ago,” Molly said.

He felt sad himself. 

“You tried, Molly. There’s nothing we can do,” Jay said quietly. 

“It’s you and your mother now, Mr. McCarey,” Molly said.

“And my sister,” Jay said. 

“I forgot you had a sister.” 

“You can leave first thing in the morning. I’ll send in your last check in the mail,” Jay told her. 

Jay asked his mother if she found out if anybody had moved into his or her old apartment.

“Fred said that a family of four from El Paso moved in,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“Oh. Has he met them yet?” Jay asked. 

“No. That’s too impossible,” Mrs. McCarey told him.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning, Jay talked to the construction people and told them that his father died the other night and asked them to take down the ramp that they had built for his father’s wheelchair. They said they would do so right away, and Jay was pleased with the work they had done on the ramp, but was unhappy that they had to take it down as soon as they had built it for his father. He planned the funeral for the following week. Karen had gotten the news and was very sad about the whole thing. 

“It was Dad’s time, Jay. Mom should understand that, but the two of them had a happy seventy – one years together,” Karen said. 

“I know they did. Knowing each other since high school is a long time,” he said. 

She agreed to that. 

Jay told Karen that he was going to cancel a few concerts for a while because of their father’s death. 

“This happens all the time, you know,” she told him. 

“I know, Sis. I can’t perform a concert when our father’s dead,” he said. 

“You don’t have to perform, Jay. Death does that to everyone,” Karen told her brother. 

“I know it does, Sis,” he said. 

He thought about doing one last performance before his father’s funeral. 

“There aren’t going to be any Elvis songs at this concert, Karen. There are going to be blues this time,” Jay said. 

“You think you’re up to doing a concert? What if you pass out?” Karen asked. 

“I think I can handle it,” he said. 

He did his last concert for a while so he can be with his family and his father’s funeral was the following week. He had made that announcement to his manager. The manager told his fans about Jay’s father, and the fans were sad for him. Jay tried singing one of the blues songs he liked, but during the second bar of the song, he passed out as Karen had thought. Mrs. McCarey stayed with him the whole show, but worried something bad would happen during the show. Karen told her to watch for him in case something did happen in case. 

The rest of the show canceled that night, so the fans left right when they heard about the night canceled. Mrs. McCarey met Jay in the dressing room. He being carried there since he was still out. He had been out for about five minutes when he tried waking up again and found his mother by his bed. 

“Mom, what happened?” he asked slowly. 

“You passed out, Jay,” she said. 

When he heard his mother tell him he passed out, he did pass out a second time. She had his manager call for the hospital. 

While waiting for the ambulance to show up, Mrs. McCarey called Karen back in Milwaukee and told her the ambulance was on its way to take Jay into the hospital because he passed out a second time. 

“I’ll be on my way out right away, Mom, since it sounds like it’s getting serious,” Karen said. 

Right We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Mrs. McCarey told her daughter. 

When they were off the phone, Karen told Ralph what happened. 

“I can’t get away from the high school, Karen, but I’ll be in time for the funeral. You and the boys can go ahead of me. Any ideas what is making your brother pass out like that?” Ralph asked. 

“No, but my guess is that it is our father’s death,” Karen told him. 

“I’ll meet you in time for the funeral, then. Maybe your brother will be well enough for the funeral,” Ralph said. 

“We don’t know that yet, Ralph. I will catch a plane now and meet Mom at the hospital. I will let you take the boys with you for the funeral. I need time alone,” Karen told him. 

“Okay by me,” Ralph said. 

Karen packed her things and Ralph drove her to the airport. 

“If the police calls for me while I’m gone, tell them what happened and take any messages,” Karen told him.

“I will, honey,” Ralph said and they kissed one more time and she hopped on the plane.

Karen slept the whole plane ride to Las Vegas from Milwaukee. She woke again, when the plane landed at the airport at two in the morning. Karen got out her cell phone and dialed her mother at the hospital because her mother gave her the name of the hospital Jay was staying in. 

“Mom, how is Jay doing?” Karen asked when Mrs. McCarey got on the phone. 

“They’re still running tests on him, Karen. They still haven’t figured it out,” Mrs. McCarey told her daughter. 

“My guess is that it’s Dad’s death that’s making him pass out like that,” Karen told Mrs. McCarey. 

“You could be right, Karen. We’ll find out sooner or later,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I’ll see you in a few minutes. I’m getting my bags,” Karen said.

“Have the taxi drop them off at your brother’s,” Mrs. McCarey told Karen. 

“Okay. I’ll head straight to the hospital,” Karen told her. 

The tests finished running at five A.M. that morning. The doctors thought that Jay is passing out like that was probably fainting. Mrs. McCarey let Karen get the doctors straight, since she had a good guess what was making Jay pass out. They agreed with Karen’s possibility. Jay still was not waking up from the tests they ran. They told Mrs. McCarey and Karen that it was a good idea Jay stay in the hospital for a day or so because of what happened. Karen told Mrs. McCarey that they could stay at Jay’s house while he ended up at the hospital. She agreed with Karen and they took a cab to Jay’s house. 

“Where is Jay’s car?” Karen asked. 

“Don’t worry about his car, Karen. Leave it at the Hilton until he feels well enough to do anything,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I need it to drive us both around, Mom. Where are his keys?” Karen asked. 

“I have them,” Mrs. McCarey said, showing the car keys to her daughter. 

“Mom, it’s already morning. Did you sleep at all last night?” Karen asked. 

“No. I was with Jay,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep? It might help and get your worries off him,” Karen said. 

Mrs. McCarey did what her daughter told her to do and slept in her bedroom of the house for a few hours.

Jay did not want to be in the hospital when he saw his sister and mother leave him. He wanted to go home also. He had a feeling his doctor was going to hear what happened and check him. Karen went to the hospital later that morning while her mother was sleeping to see Jay. 

“Yo, Jay, it’s me,” Karen said, looking into the room after letting herself in. 

“Yo yourself,” he said a little alert from the tests the doctors ran on him all night. 

“How are you?” Karen asked, pulling a chair next to his bed. 

“The same. Mom told me I passed out. What made me do that?” Jay asked. 

“My guess could be Dad’s death,” Karen told her brother.

“I never got to say good – bye to him when he died that night, Karen. Died when I was doing my show,” Jay said. 

“It happens when we don’t say good – bye to a loved one,” Karen said. 

“It hurts too,” Jay said. 

“Mom and I think it’s best you don’t go to Dad’s funeral. We want you to get your strength back,” Karen told him. 

“I need to go to his funeral, Karen. How am I going to pay my respects to Dad if I don’t go and how am I ever going to say good – bye?” Jay asked, tears starting to come down a little.

Jay stopped crying to ask Karen where their mother was. 

“She’s asleep, Jay. She was awake all night because of your passing out like that. I’m letting her sleep for a while,” Karen told her brother. 

“Okay. Good idea.”


	22. Chapter 22

Back at the house, Mrs. McCarey started having nightmares about Jay’s passing. She was not so sure if the nightmares were true or not. She woke up when the nightmare was over. She was frightened after waking up from the nightmares. She got up from her bed and decided to see what Karen was doing. She found Karen’s note and called Karen’s cell phone. 

“Hi, Mom,” Jay heard her say after answering on the second ring. 

“Karen, how is your brother?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Still the same. He wants to go to Dad’s funeral this afternoon, but I told him not to, but we want him to get his strength back,” Karen said. 

“Your brother isn’t well enough to do anything right now, Karen,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I know. Do you want me to talk to the nurse or doctor and ask when he can come home when I leave?” Karen asked. 

“Please do. I want to know when he is well enough to come home,” Mrs. McCarey said.

They got off the phone.


	23. Chapter 23

Karen saw a nurse come in and give Jay his blood pressure.

“Nurse, I’m his sister. We were wondering when Mr. McCarey will be well enough to come home from the hospital,” Karen said. 

“We don’t know yet, Missy. Blood pressure is not looking good right now. The number is low,” the nurse told Karen. 

“Poor Jay,” Karen told her brother, squeezing his hand. 

The nurse told Karen what Jay’s blood pressure was now, but did not sound too good. 

The nurse left after testing Jay’s blood pressure. 

“I’m sure your blood pressure will be normal one of these days, Jay,” Karen told her brother. 

“It better. It always has been normal,” Jay told her. 

“These things happen, Jay. Mom is worried about you right now. Ralph and the boys should be here soon. I don’t think we’ll be staying at your place,” Karen said. 

Karen and Jay both heard her cell phone ring just then. It was Ralph, calling to say that he and the kids just arrived at the airport. 

“Jay, speaking of Ralph and the kids, they just arrived at the airport. I have to leave to pick them up and we will find a hotel. I will see you later. Get some rest,” Karen told him.

“Okay. I want to go back home,” he said. 

Before she left, Karen gave Jay’s hand one more squeeze. 

“I don’t blame you for not wanting to stay here any longer,” she said. 

She told him to get some rest one more time. He watched her walk out the room.


	24. Chapter 24

Karen heard her cell phone ring again when she entered Jay’s car. 

“Hi, Mom,” she said. 

“Hi, sweetheart. How is your brother?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“The same, Mom. The nurse came in and took his blood pressure. It wasn’t looking good when she took it, Mom,” Karen told Mrs. McCarey. 

“Did you ask when your brother can come back home?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I did, but they don’t know yet.”

“Mom, I’m picking up Ralph and the boys and we’re going to find a hotel. We will probably go to dinner later. Do you want to come and we’ll see Jay after dinner?” Karen asked. 

“Okay. I will come, even if I do not like that no – good husband of yours,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Stop it, Mom. Ralph’s a good guy with a good paying job,” Karen said. 

She and Mrs. McCarey got off the phone and Karen drove right to the airport and met Ralph and the boys. 

“Is your brother out of the hospital yet?” Ralph asked after she said hello to him and the children. 

“Not yet. They have no clue when he’ll be out,” Karen said as they carried the luggage to Jay’s car. 

“What do you think made your brother pass out like that?” Ralph asked. 

“My guess is Dad’s death, but I have no idea what the doctors think, Ralph. Jay was saying he never have to say good – bye to Dad when Dad passed away that night. Jay was a doing a show when that happened,” Karen said, remembering what happened that night when their father died. 

“What about your mother? Did she get to say good – bye?” Ralph asked. 

“I’m sure she did, Ralph. She was there with the nurse,” Karen said. 

Mrs. McCarey dialed Karen’s cell phone one more time and told her she was ready to go to the funeral. 

“All right, Mom. Let us get ready first, then we’ll pick you up,” Karen told Mrs. McCarey. 

"Right. I’ll be waiting,” Mrs. McCarey said as they got off the phone.


	25. Chapter 25

Jay slept the whole afternoon they held his father’s funeral. His doctor thought he was well enough to go home that evening. His blood pressure was back to normal, as Karen had thought. Jay called his house when the funeral was still on. 

He left a message on his own answering machine, telling his mother that he was ready to go home. After the memorial service for Mr. McCarey, the family went back to Jay’s house and found his message on the machine. 

“We’ll pick him up after dinner, Mom. First, we’ll eat dinner,” Karen said. 

“I think we should wait to eat when we pick up your brother from the hospital. I want him to eat,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

Right We will do it your way then, Mom. We’ll let Jay eat and get some of his strength back,” Karen agreed. 

She let Ralph stay and watch Norman and Jay while she and Mrs. McCarey take an overnight bag of Jay’s and drive over to the hospital to pick him up. 

Ralph started cooking dinner when Karen and Mrs. McCarey left the house to pick up Jay. They were going to have seafood that night. He was thinking of lobster for that night’s meal. 

“Are you sure that doctor of yours said it was okay to go home?” Mrs. McCarey asked Jay. 

“That’s what he said, Mom. I slept all afternoon. Blood pressure’s back to normal.” 

“You made me worry sick about you, Jay, when you passed out on stage like that. I thought I was going to loose another family member,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“It was just a fainting spell, Mom. I’m not dying yet.” 

“I don’t want to lose another man, Jay. The man of my life is already dead, and I don’t want another one dead right away,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“I’m here to protect you, Mom,” he said. 

“You’re eating supper with us tonight, Jay, whenever you’re not feeling good or not. Your sister and I want you to get stronger again, after what happened. We want you to be able to do your Elvis thing again in a few days, depending on how well you’re feeling,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I can still do Elvis, Mom, but not right now. The doc was saying I have to take it easy for the next few days,” Jay said. 

“That’s what we want too, Jay. We’ll help you on that,” Mrs. McCarey told him strictly.

“I couldn’t help passing out on stage like that, Mom. Dad made me do that, as Karen said. You never know if it will happen again,” he said.

“No, I don’t know if it will or not. It’s too soon to tell,” Mrs. McCarey said, watching Karen zip his overnight bag with his clothes. 

Jay left the hospital with his mother and Karen and let Karen drive his car to the house. They found Ralph cooking lobster for dinner when they entered the kitchen. 

“Is that what we’re having for dinner tonight, Ralphie?” Karen asked. 

“Yup. That’s what I wanted tonight and thought your brother might want something like this as well,” Ralph said, messing with the stove. 

Jay took a good smell at the lobster. Lobster was his favorite seafood meal, he remembered. 

“Yum,” he said, smelling the lobster. 

Jay turned the TV on, found an Elvis program, and started watching that. He was so into that. The program was a gospel one this time, and not a rock and roll or rhythm and blues or country program, just gospel. Jay seemed to be enjoying it, Karen and their mother noticed. Karen remembered Jay had been into Elvis for several years, but did not know the number of years. 

“Jay, dear, we’ll let you eat on the couch out there. We don’t want any passing out happening again like that one night when you were on stage,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, that’s not going to happen. I feel fine right now. I’ll eat at the table,” he said.

“Jay, did that doctor of yours send any prescriptions home with you for a while?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“That’s not necessary, Mother. I don’t need any medicines for passing out,” Jay said.

“Mom, Jay’s fine. Do not worry too much. If he passes out more than once like before, we know where the phone is,” Karen told Mrs. McCarey. 

“He’s the only man in our family left now, Karen. That’s why I have to worry so much,” Mrs. McCarey pointed out at Karen. 

Karen thought they would leave the house after dinner that night. 

“We’re leaving when we’re done eating, Mom. I’ve spent enough time out here,” Karen said.

“You need time with your own family, I see,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

When they finished eating lobster that night, which was an hour later, Karen thought it was a good time to leave. 

“We’ll call a cab, Mom. We don’t want Jay driving us,” Karen said. 

“I feel well enough to drive you,” Jay said. 

“A cab is better, Jay. We will leave your car alone for a while. We’ve been driving it today,” Karen said. 

“How much gasoline does it have left?” he asked. 

“Half a tank.” 

Before getting out of the house when the cabbie showed up, Karen asked their mother to help Jay when he wanted to go to bed that night. 

“All right, Karen. Will do. We’ll talk to you in the morning,” Mrs. McCarey said and they gave each other a kiss. 

Jay started getting tired when the clock chimed eight that evening. 

“I’m ready for bed, Mom. I’m going to take a bath,” he said. 

“Karen wanted me to help you get ready for bed, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do in case you pass out again.” 

“Mom, stop worrying! I can do my own bath and get into bed myself. I am sure Dad could tell you that himself if he were still here,” Jay told her. 

He walked upstairs with Mrs. McCarey on his heels. He went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. 

“This is what I’m doing, Mom. A shower. That you don’t need to watch,” he said.

Right I’ll be right outside your bedroom in case anything does happen.” 

He got out his pajamas from underneath his pillow and a clean pair of underwear, headed for his bathroom, and closed the door so his mother would not have to watch him take a shower. Mrs. McCarey heard the phone ring downstairs, so she left the bedroom and went to answer the phone. 

“McCarey residence.” 

“Is Jay around?” his manager asked. 

“Yes, but he is not available now,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Are you his secretary?” the manager asked. 

“No, I’m his mother.” 

“Could you tell him that Paul called?” the voice on the other end asked. 

Right May I ask who Paul is?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I’m Mr. McCarey’s manager at the Hilton.” 

“All right. I’ll tell Jay you called,” she said.

“Speaking of Mr. McCarey, I wanted to know how he’s been doing since that little blackout he had during his show the other night,” Paul said. 

“Fine. He just came home from the hospital. He is taking a shower right now, but I have a feeling he might do it again and I might end up losing him," Mrs. McCarey said.

“That won’t happen, Mrs. McCarey. Did the doctors find out what caused it?” Paul asked. 

“No, they didn’t have one clue.” 

They said good – bye after talking a little while longer. Mrs. McCarey wrote the number down in case Jay had forgotten his manager’s phone number at the Hilton Hotel. Jay came out as soon as his mother was walking up the stairs a second time. 

“Did the telephone ring?” Jay asked. 

“Yes, Jay. Your manager called.” 

“Oh, Paul. What did he want? Did he want me to do any shows again?” Jay asked. 

“He wanted to know how you were feeling since you passed out.” 

“What did you tell Paul?” Jay asked. 

Mrs. McCarey told him what their conversation. 

“I’m not going to die, Mom. I have already told you that before. You know that now.” She followed him on his heels a second time to his bedroom to make sure nothing happened. “Mom, stop following me. It’s starting to annoy me,” he said, not liking her following him. 

As soon as Mrs. McCarey helped him get into bed, she put the covers on him and kissed him good – night. 

“I’m going to leave the door open if you need anything,” she said. 

He fell asleep as soon as she kissed him good – night. She left the door half – open as she said as if she was going to. 

He slept through four hours straight without waking up. He woke up again at midnight, wondering what time it was. Mrs. McCarey thought she heard Jay in the next room, so she got up from her room, went to his, and see how he was doing. It had almost been three hours ago that she had checked on him to see how he was doing. 

“Do you need anything, Jay? Water?” Mrs. McCarey asked him, since he was awake. 

“Maybe some water wouldn’t hurt. I have not had anything since dinner, Mom. I sure could use something right now,” he said. 

“Don’t you dare get up. I’ll treat my son like a king and get him some water,” Mrs. McCarey said and went into the kitchen. 

Mrs. McCarey already had the light on in the kitchen, took out a glass from the cupboard, poured a glass full of water, and turned the light out from the kitchen as she left. She handed him the glass of water. He drank the water slowly. 

“Thanks, Mom. I need it,” he said after a second gulp of water. 

“Don’t drink so fast, Son,” she said. 

He started crying a little. He remembered that his father called him that. 

“Dad used to call me that, Mom.” 

“I know, Jay. I thought I’d make you happy by calling you that in your father’s memory,” she said.


	26. Chapter 26

Karen saw that Ralph had been out at the tables for a few hours. She had guessed that he must have been doing pretty well. She knew his favorite game was blackjack. Ralph came back at 12:30 that night, with $2,000.00. 

“I won, Karen! I won!” he said, happily. 

“Did you play blackjack?” she asked. 

“Yes, I did. Played this whole time and came in first. This must have been my lucky night on that game. Have you heard anything about your brother at all?” 

“Not since ten o’clock. Must be still asleep, I reckon,” Karen said. 

“Oh. That’s good, then.” 

“I hope so. We’ll find out later in the morning how the rest of the night went when we talk to Mom,” Karen said. 

“I need to go back to work, Karen. We won’t have time to talk to her,” he said. 

“Okay. I need to go back myself,” she said.


	27. Chapter 27

Morning arrived fast. Jay was feeling a lot better that morning. When he woke up, the phone rang. It was Karen. He woke up and answered it, since his mother was still sleeping. Mrs. McCarey heard him talking, but was not sure where the talking was coming from, so she put her robe and slippers on and walked downstairs. 

“Jay, who is on the phone?” she asked. 

“Karen. She and the family are leaving in an hour to catch their plane to Milwaukee,” he said. 

“I want to say good – bye. You go back to bed.” 

Mrs. McCarey took the phone from Jay and spoke a few words to Karen before hanging up the phone. Jay was sitting on his bed, but waiting for his mother to come into the room. She did come into the room after a minute or so. The phone rang again and this time it was Jay’s doctor from the hospital, wanting to speak to Mrs. McCarey about Jay’s passing out. She told the doctor that they would be over after breakfast was over. 

“Jay, the doctor wants to see us about your fainting spell,” she said. 

“I thought they didn’t have any ideas to what it was,” he said. 

“At first they didn’t, but I guess they have an idea after going through all those tests they did on you,” she said. 

They drove to the doctor’s office right when they finished eating. He was already dressed, so that did not have to wait. They walked into the waiting room and he called right away. The doctor and Jay’s mother talked about the mysterious health problem what had caused Jay to black out. 

“We went through the tests a second and third time, Mrs. McCarey, and it looks like the answer is now low blood pressure,” the doctor told him and Mrs. McCarey. 

“None of my and my husband’s family members have that kind of problem, Dr. We’re all healthy. How did that happen to make our son pass out?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

The doctor told her. He even wrote prescriptions for Jay to worry about. 

“Can my son still perform on stage?” Mrs. McCarey asked.

“Sure can,” the doctor said while writing prescriptions. 

“See, Mom. Nothing to worry about,” Jay said. 

“I have every right to worry about you,” she told him. 

“You may have every right to worry, Mom, but do not worry too much,” he said to his mother. 

They went to the drugstore within an hour or two so they could pick up Jay’s first prescriptions. Like his doctor told the two of them, he should wait a couple more days before going back to perform on stage. 

“Jay, nobody on my and your father’s sides of the family had any health problems. Nobody,” Mrs. McCarey told her son. 

“I understand that, Mom. I just wish I could’ve been at that funeral the other day to say good – bye to Dad,” Jay said. 

“We do too, but that didn’t work out on your health,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Why don’t you show me where Dad’s grave is?” he asked. 

“Today’s not a good day to do so,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Sure it is, Mom. You just do not want to take me out there, because you think it might be the end of me. I can care for myself. You know that,” he said. 

He got out his car keys and she followed him to the car. 

“You sure you want to see your father’s grave? I don’t want you back in that nasty hospital room, Jay,” Mrs. McCarey told him.

“Stop worrying, Mother. I’ll be fine,” he said. 

“I’m not so sure about this, Jay. I think something is going to happen to you. I just know it!” she said as she buckled her seatbelt. 

“Give me another chance on caring for myself, Mom. The first chance is already over when I was taken over to the hospital that nigh, so forget it,” he said as he started driving away from the neighborhood. 

He finally got into town. 

“Where is the cemetery that Dad’s buried, Mom?” Jay asked. 

She gave him directions to a different place instead of a gravesite; instead, Jay found them at a nursing agency. 

“Mom, this isn’t a gravesite. This is an agency for nurses,” he said. 

“Right on, Jay. We’re going to get you a nurse,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I told you to stop worrying. I do not need a nurse. I am not stupid. I can care for myself. I already told you that,” he said, driving away from the agency.


	28. Chapter 28

He went to drive them to a sandwich place for lunch. 

“How about a sandwich, Mom?” he asked. 

She okayed the sandwich place. Jay spotted Steve Griswold inside, but he was drinking a soda pop when they got into the line to get their orders.

“I’d still like to get you on television,” Steve said when he spotted Jay. 

“Not a chance, Mr. Griswold. I do not do television like most famous people. That is not part of my contract. I’ve already finished preaching if that’s what you want to tape me for,” Jay said. 

“That could get high ratings, Mr. McCarey. You never know how many people would be watching you. You could even get new fans,” Steve said. 

Jay knew the whole thing was a fraud, so he and his mother ordered their sandwiches and left with their drinks as soon as he paid and drove off in the car. 

“I’m telling my lawyer about this, Mom. Let’s go there now and see if she’s there,” he said, heading for his lawyer’s office on Broadway.


	29. Chapter 29

He found Ms. Clark’s car parked out front when they drove up. He and Mrs. McCarey had finished eating their sandwiches and the soda pop was half empty, so they left the soda pop in the car for the mean time. 

“You want to come or stay?” Jay asked his mother. 

“I’ll come. You never know what’s going to happen in that office,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt. 

He found his lawyer’s secretary out front and asked if Ms. Clark was in. 

“She is, but with a client, Mr. McCarey. Would you mind waiting for a few more minutes?” Ms. Clark’s secretary asked. 

“Sure, we’ll wait,” Jay said. 

Ms. Clark was talking with her client when she got word Jay was in. 

“Tell him I’ll be done in a few more minutes,” Ms. Clark said. 

“That’s what I told him, Penny. His mother is with him, but I don’t see the old man,” the secretary told her boss. 

The secretary told Jay what Ms. Clark told her. 

“Okay, we’ll wait,” he said and they sat down. 

He heard his cell phone ring. It turned out to be Paul, his manager from the Hilton Hotel.

“Hi, Paul,” Jay said on the second ring. 

“Hi, Jay. We have your schedule ready for you to perform again,” Paul said. 

“Cool. What days do you have me on?” Jay asked. 

Paul gave him the days and times for his performances. 

“Sounds cool, Paul. I think I will be able to perform by then. I can’t do anything now because my doctor says I have to take it easy for a couple days,” Jay said. 

“Is your mother driving you crazy?” Paul asked. 

“My mother’s with me right now, Paul. I don’t want to give you that kind of answer if she’s going to listen to my conversation,” Jay told his manager. 

“I get the picture. Tell me some other time,” Paul said, knowing what Jay meant. 

Paul told him it was payday, so he had to come in and get his check. 

"Right. I will come and pick it up when I am done. I am making a complaint about that cameraman. He still wants to put me on television,” Jay said. 

“Still? What did you tell Mr. Griswold?” Paul asked. 

Jay told his manager what he told Steve. 

“That’s how you and I work things out, Jay. Maybe we do not want to do television. Maybe some people won’t be interested at all in watching you, but maybe on stage only,” Paul agreed.


	30. Chapter 30

After leaving his lawyer’s office, Jay and Mrs. McCarey drove back home. He found a message on the machine for him waiting. It was Barry calling, wanting to do lunch one of these days.

“I’m going to lie down for a while, Jay. I need some time to myself,” Mrs. McCarey told him. 

“Okay, Mom. Do you feel okay?” he asked. 

“Just a headache,” she said. 

“Okay. Go lie down,” he said, agreeing to what she told him. 

He waited to call Barry back when she headed up the stairs to her bedroom. He picked up the phone and called Barry’s number at the Hilton Hotel. Barry was there and picked up in his hotel room. 

“Hi, Jay,” he said when the second ring finished ringing. 

“Hi, Barry. Just got into the house and found your message on the machine. Sure, I would love to go to lunch with you one of these days. My mother’s starting to be a pain,” Jay said.

“What are you talking about?” Barry asked, not having a clue about what Jay talking. 

“My mom is busy worrying about my health, Barry. I keep telling her I can care for myself. I threw a blues concert the night my father passed away and I happened to pass out when he died. The concert canceled the rest of the night. I’ve been home for almost two days now because of that,” Jay told Barry.

“You mean you developed a health problem while passing out?” Barry asked. 

“That’s what my doctor was saying. My mother was worried sick the whole time I was in the hospital that night I passed out on the night my father died, and I missed out on going to his funeral the other day because of that health problem. My health reads low blood pressure because of my passing out. That’s why my mom thinks I can’t care for myself anymore.” 

“You do have one worried mother, Jay. Why doesn’t she move in with your sister and her husband?” Barry asked. 

“She doesn’t trust my sister’s husband, Barry. She and my father hate him. That is why they moved in with me. I’m single,” he said. 

“Do you have any girlfriends?” Barry asked. 

“Not a one. I’m too busy to have a girlfriend or a marriage because of my career.” 

Jay told Barry what happened when he and Mrs. McCarey walked into the sandwich place at lunchtime between himself and Steve Griswold. 

“You just sued that guy, for crying out loud, Jay! Dolly and I were part of your witnesses, remember?” Barry asked. 

“I do remember that, Barry. I happen to think what Mr. Griswold told me was a fraud,” Jay said. 

“Either that, or it was a setup,” Barry said. 

While talking on the phone with Barry, Mrs. McCarey had hold of Jay’s prescriptions and she went to the bathroom before going to her bedroom to lie down for a while, she flushed the pills down the toilet. Jay did hear the toilet flush upstairs, guessing his mother had to use the bathroom. 

After a twenty minutes’ phone conversation with Barry, Jay went outside for his daily run. He figured his mother was asleep or something in her bedroom after using the bathroom. After running for two hours, Jay came back to the house and tried looking for the prescriptions that his doctor had written up for him to worry. He knew it was time to take one of them now, but could not find them. He knew they had brought them into the house when they came home. 

He went upstairs and knocked on his mother’s door. He knew he should not disturb her if she was trying to sleep, but he knew it was urgent. She got up to answer the door.

“Mom, do you know where my pills are? I need to take one of them right now,” he said.

“Threw them down the toilet, Son. I did not raise my children to be on drugs and have health problems. Now since your father died, I’m thinking I raised you wrong and your doctor put you on drugs for one little health problem!” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, you raised me right. Everybody has a health problem. That can’t be helped,” Jay said, “but maybe one of these days you’ll have one yourself. Have you thought of that?”

“I have known that since I married your father, Blue Jay. I know your father knew that too. That is what love and marriage is all about, my little Blue Jay. We wanted to have a healthy family one day. That was our wish, we got what we wanted, and the other day when you were in the nasty hospital, you ruined our wish by getting a health problem! Look, your sister doesn’t have any symptoms or signs the way you showed when you passed out during your concert,” she said angrily. 

“And I’m the only one that didn’t get the chance to give respects to Dad when he died. How would you feel if you were in my shoes when Dad died and you didn’t get to say good – bye, Mom?” he asked. 

She was quiet for a while, but did not answer his question. 

“Your father and I grew up together in high school, Blue Jay. That is how we fell in love like that. Then came Washington, you, your sister, and our neighbor Fred. That is the whole story of our marriage, Blue Jay. Do you remember hearing me call you that at all when you were a teenager?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Not really,” he said. 

“I named you Jay because you were blonde and had blue eyes, just like myself. You’re my blue jay,” Mrs. McCarey told her son. 

“Will you stop worrying about me so much? I would appreciate it if you did, Mom. I’m the only one in this family that’s still taking Dad’s death really hard because I didn’t get to go to the funeral and give him my respects,” Jay said. 

“I see your birthday is coming up in a couple weeks, Blue Jay. Let me what you want for your birthday, and I’ll go shopping one of these days,” she said. 

“Now that I’ve missed taking those pills, I’ll have to talk to that doctor again about getting another prescription for all those pills because you flushed them down the toilet. He is not going to be happy when he hears about this, Mom. He thinks treating low blood pressure is the right thing to do. Don’t you know there are a lot of people out there who don’t have jobs because of their health?” Jay asked his mother. 

“I do, but that’s why I’m worried about you right now. That is why I threw all those drugs down the toilet. I am worried because I do not want your career down the drain. 

That’s why I’m worried so much about you,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, we’ll see how healthy this low blood pressure thing is first. If it is worse, then I will end up in the drain and not work at all because of it and you will have to worry about caring for me. Just give me a chance." Jay asked. 

“Only one chance, Blue Jay. If your health is worse, then you have to give up Elvis.”

“That is what I just told you, Mom. That is why I drove away from that agency you drove me to today. I do not need a nurse yet. I am still healthy now. When you were upstairs and I got off the phone earlier, I went for my daily two – hour run. That didn’t cause any problems,” he told her.


	31. Chapter 31

They both heard the phone ring. Karen was on a break from work, so she thought she would see what Jay was up to. He answered it. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi, Jay. Me,” Karen said. 

“Hi, Sis.” 

“Sorry we didn’t stay long. Ralph and I had a busy schedule ahead, so we had to leave. Kids are back at school also,” Karen said. 

“I know what that’s like,” he said. 

“What are you doing?” Karen asked. 

“Having a chat with Mom. She’s worried sick about my low blood pressure.” 

“Bet she is. Is she in your way yet?” Karen asked. 

“Yes, Karen. I keep telling her I can care for myself, but she’s not believing me.” 

“Tell me what happened,” she said. 

“Well, we went to pick up my first prescriptions today and when I was on the phone with Barry Manilow, I heard the toilet flush. Guess what Mom did?” he said. 

“What did she do?” Karen asked. 

“I just got back from my daily run not long ago, and I started looking for the pills that the doctor had prescribed, and couldn’t find them, so I went to Mom’s room and asked her where they were and guess what she said?” he asked. 

“What did she tell you?” Karen asked. 

“Said she flushed them in the toilet. She said she didn’t raise children to be on drugs and have health problems,” Jay said. 

“She has to stay out of your way, Jay and start worrying about her own health. We know that you are the only one of the three in this family that did not get a chance to say good – bye to Dad. I guess that is why she is not leaving you alone. Is there anything else Mom told you?” Karen asked. 

“She said that she thought raised me wrong,” Jay said. 

“She raised you right. Look at you now. You are a performer in Las Vegas. You sing Elvis Presley songs. I sure can’t do that.” 

They talked for a while longer, and Karen asked to speak to their mother. 

“I’ll go get her. She is in her room. She wanted to lie down because she said she had a headache.” 

“Oh. Did the headache go away?” Karen asked. 

“Don’t have a clue.” 

“Let me take care of Mom for a few minutes, Jay.” 

“Thanks.” 

He put the phone down and went to Mrs. McCarey’s bedroom.


	32. Chapter 32

“Mom, Karen’s on the phone and wants to speak to you.” 

“Okay, Blue Jay. I’ll speak to her,” Mrs. McCarey said and followed him to the phone.

Karen spoke to their mother for a while about leaving Jay alone and giving him a chance to care for himself. 

“Jay told me what you did with his prescriptions. Why did you do such a thing like that? That’s not like you, Mom,” Karen said. 

“I had to stop him, Karen May. Even with one little pill could end his life in heaven. I do not want that. I am sure that is not what your father wanted. I do not want two of my men dead around the same time. Who will protect me when I’m not around a man?” Mrs. McCarey asked Karen. 

“Ralph can protect you, Mom. I can protect you. You know I’m a cop.” 

“Jay can protect me now that Don isn’t alive anymore, Karen. However, if he is dead too, who will protect me in Las Vegas if your brother does die? I don’t know anyone out here in Las Vegas,” Mrs. McCarey pointed out. 

“We may not know anyone in Vegas like Jay does, Mom, but you have myself and Ralph to protect you. If Jay does die from low blood pressure and another health problem does cause that, then you have no other choice but to move to Milwaukee after we sell Jay’s house and move with in with kids and me and Ralph unless you want to move into a nursing home,” Karen told Mrs. McCarey. 

“Nursing homes are freaky, Karen. I don’t need one unless I develop a health problem like your brother did and need help.” 

“Do myself and Jay a favor, Mom.” 

“What’s that?” Mrs. McCarey asked.

“Leave Jay alone and let him worry about himself. You worry about yourself and your health while he worries about his low blood pressure. If you do not let him worry about himself, then he tells me, and you move in with Ralph and me. Is that a deal?” Karen asked. 

Mrs. McCarey agreed.

“Give Jay at least one month’s chance to worry about himself, Mom. If you do not, then you are moving in. We will probably hear about it from Jay the next time how well you are progressing. Let me tell Jay the deal unless you want to tell him yourself,” Karen said.

“You can tell him,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

Mrs. McCarey gave Jay the phone back. He and Karen talked about the deal that Karen and their mother had made. He loved the idea. 

“Mom moving in with you and Ralph. Boy, is she going to hate that! That’s a good punishment you came up with, Karen,” Jay said. 

“That’s the only way we can keep her stop worrying about you so much, Jay. That’s her punishment,” Karen said. 

Karen told Jay that they would start talking again within the next five days or so and see how their mother is handling the agreement. 

“Okay. The next thing I have to do is get more prescriptions, Karen. He wrote up about two or three, but I am not sure what number that was. I’ll probably go out there now and talk to him,” Jay said.

“Good luck, Jay. Tell Mom the worrying stops now,” Karen said. 

“I’ll tell her.” 

“Be sure to keep those pills somewhere where Mom can’t touch ‘em.” 

“Okay, Karen. I know she can touch them, but I will keep them in my room somewhere. Is that a good idea?” Jay asked.

“Yeah.” 

They said good – bye within fifteen minutes. When he got off, he made a call to the doctor’s office and made an appointment. They let him come in right away that afternoon. 

“Mom, I’m going to town for an appointment. I’m going alone,” he said.

“Okay.” 

“Mom, Karen told me to tell you that you have to stop worrying about me and it starts right now. She’s going to call back and see how you are progressing on it within the next few days,” Jay said.


	33. Chapter 33

He gave his mother a kiss, walked out of his mother’s bedroom, grabbed his car keys, and drove off to the doctor’s office. The doctor was finishing up with a patient when Jay came into the waiting room. His name called right away and ran the usual routine with him. He seated in the doctor’s office and the doctor showed up before he knew it. 

“I heard you wanted to see me, Mr. McCarey,” the doctor said. 

“I do. It’s about the medications you put me on,” he said. 

“Are they working?” he asked. 

“That’s what I want to talk about,” Jay said. 

“Okay, talk,” the doctor said.

Jay told him the day’s story about his mother flushing the pills down the toilet. The doctor did not like that kind of story. 

“Are there any left for you to use?” the doctor asked. 

“That’s why I’m here, Dr. There are none for me to take. She flushed down every prescription you wrote down. I was going to try one of them this afternoon, but they were already gone.” 

“Why would your mother do a thing like that?” the doctor asked. 

“She raised one happy health family when my sister and I were growing up. None of us had any problems like this. My father died recently. My sister thought that the low blood pressure had caused me to pass out during my concert that night and my father died the same night. My mother is afraid she’ll loose me as well,” Jay told the doctor. 

The doctor told Jay that low blood pressure named hypotension. 

“Tell that to my mom.” 

When they finished their talk, the doctor rewrote the prescriptions so Jay could take the pills. The doctor said it would come through UPS. 

“Okay. My mother is thinking that someday I cannot work because of low blood pressure. Is that?” Jay asked.

“For some people. We don’t know about you yet,” the doctor said. 

The appointment was over and Jay left the doctor’s office.


	34. Chapter 34

He went to the grocery store and ended up getting supper for himself and Mrs. McCarey. So far, Mrs. McCarey had broken the agreement between herself, Karen and Jay about worrying too much about him. Jay came back to the house with four bags full of groceries. He found his mother lying on the couch when he came in with the four grocery bags. 

“Hi, Mom. Sorry I did not come home from the doctor’s office right away. I went to the store and picked up a few groceries and dinner,” Jay said. 

“What did the doctor tell you?” Mrs. McCarey asked, watching him put the groceries away. 

“The doc wasn’t happy about your flushing the pills down the drain. He said that medications these days have gone up the market the last four months. He also told me that low blood pressure is called hypotension. Did you know that?” Jay asked. 

“No, I did not, Blue Jay. How are you going to get these pills after I flushed them down?” she asked. 

“He told me by UPS, so I don’t have to go to the drugstore this time,” Jay said. 

“Oh.” 

“How are you managing with our agreement that Karen made so far?” Jay asked. 

“You’ll find out in five days.”


	35. Chapter 35

Five days had passed and Jay was out on stage, performing Elvis’s songs. Mrs. McCarey was out there watching him and enjoying hearing her son sing and perform the music. Jay had sung all kinds of songs that night: “Hound Dog,” “Trying To Get To You,” “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck,” “Loving You,” “King Creole,” “Rubberneckin’,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” “Lawdy, Miss Clawdy,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Little Sister,” and many more. 

While performing “Trying To Get To You,” he was in the middle of the line “I’ve been traveling over miles, trying to get to you,” he heard people clapping and whistling during the song, which he had during many times during his other shows. He even heard some finger snapping and saw some people in the audience tapping their toes in the front row. During intermission, he talked to several fans. One fan he talked to and she loved his voice. 

“Mr. McCarey, how do you do that to your voice to sing just like Elvis?” she asked. 

“I’ve heard Elvis most of my teenage life, so one day I thought I’d give my voice a try at one of the songs and it was magic. It did sound just like Elvis’s,” Jay told the lady, whose name was Sue. 

“Wow,” her younger sister, Anne said, impressed by his answer. 

“We are from Memphis, Tennessee ourselves, Mr. McCarey. We do not live very far from Graceland. Bet you’ve heard about the murder of Elvis Presley,” Sue told Jay. 

“Sure have. That Tim Blake sure was nasty enough to kill Elvis like that. If Elvis was alive today, I bet he would be doing his career,” Jay said. 

“We really don’t know. We heard that Priscilla is still a little bit more shocked by his death right now, but Lisa Marie’s doing a better job than Priscilla on Elvis’s death,” Anne said. 

“How is the rest of his family taking it?” Jay asked, remembering Elvis had a few cousins on Vernon’s side of the family. 

“They’re still grieving a lot because Elvis had one male cousin that died of asthma and that was really bad. He was that Green Bay Packers coach. Do you remember Elvis’s cousin who coached football?” 

“I sort of do, but I can’t recall his name. He was that short blonde, right?” Jay asked.

“No, he was short with red hair, Mr. McCarey, but he and Elvis were eight or nine years apart. Name was Roger Presley, on Vernon’s side of the family. He was younger than Elvis,” Anne said. 

“I am starting to get the picture now. Was Elvis the first of all those cousins?” Jay asked.

“No, Elvis was the third, was what Roger’s obit said,” Anne said, remembering that they had read in the newspaper. 

“I’m learning more Elvis Presley trivia here. Thanks for telling me this, ladies. I will have to do research on Elvis’s family. Give me the website,” he said. 

Sue wrote it down for him. 

“Thanks, Ms. – I don’t know your last name,” he said. 

She told him their last name.

“Thanks for the info. Interesting. I will be sure to look this up. I know they already have this info on the Internet,” Jay told the ladies. 

“They’ve had it up since Coach Presley died, Mr. McCarey,” Anne said. 

“I always thought that Priscilla and Lisa and Gladys and Vernon were the only family members Elvis had,” Jay said. 

“No,” Anne said.


	36. Chapter 36

Jay was at home the next day, so he slept in until ten the next morning. When lunch was over, he decided to go on the website that the ladies had written down for him the night before. He punched in family tree dot com and punched in Elvis Presley. He got the information that Anne and Sue told him about and went through the whole thing. Mrs. McCarey found him in his office. 

“What are you doing, Blue Jay?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Looking up Elvis’s family,” Jay told her. 

“I need to go shopping. Would you mind driving me to the mall?” Mrs. McCarey asked.

“Sure. Give me one moment,” he said, signing off the Internet. 

He grabbed the car keys. 

“Let’s go, Mom. What do you need to do at the mall?” he asked. 

“Maybe some birthday shopping for your birthday. Any ideas?” she asked. 

“I don’t, but find whatever you think I’d like,” he said. 

Right You mean surprise you?” 

“Yup.” 

He had the fifties station on in the car and they were listening to it while he found the mall for her to shop. 

“Need any money?” he asked. 

“I’m fine right now. Still safe with sixty dollars,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Call me on the cell if you need any money,” he said. 

“Where are you going to be when I’m ready to leave?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Home. I heard some interesting information some Elvis fans gave me last night and I thought I’d research it,” Jay said. 

“Okay. I’m beginning to think that agreement Karen thought up the other day isn’t going to work,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Just stick with it for at least one month. One month is not going to hurt you, Mom. Think about what Dad would do if he heard I had this health problem. What would Dad do if he were in your shoes?” Jay asked. 

While walking with Mrs. McCarey into the mall and showing her where one of the closest stores where, he asked, “What did you think of my show last night?” 

“I enjoyed it, Son. I bet your father would too, if he were still here,” Mrs. McCarey said, tears coming down a bit. 

“Call me when you’re ready to leave,” he said, giving her a hug. 

“I will,” she said and watched him leave the mall.


	37. Chapter 37

While at the mall that afternoon, Mrs. McCarey ran into one of Jay’s old high school friends. 

“Hi, Mrs. McCarey,” she heard a familiar male voice speak behind her. 

She almost jumped at the voice speaking behind her. She had forgotten the man’s name. She looked behind her. 

“Do you remember me, Mrs. McCarey? Jay and I were old high school buddies,” he said.

“I forget your name,” she told the tall, dark – haired man. 

He was Jay’s age, but forty-four. 

“Do you remember my name?” he asked. 

“No, I don’t. It’s been almost thirty years or so,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“It’s Bill Thompson,” he said. 

“Now I remember. You ran track at the high school, right?” she asked. 

“Correct, Mrs. McCarey. Are you here for vacation with Mr. McCarey?” he asked. 

Tears came down her eyes when he mentioned her husband. Bill heard his wife, Tina call him from two feet behind him. 

“Bill!” he heard her shout. 

“That’s my wife, Mrs. McCarey. Would you like to meet her and my children?” he asked.

Right.” 

“Where’s Jay? I haven’t seen him since we graduated from high school,” he said. 

“He’s at his house. I’m here because I want to get a head start on his birthday shopping,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I forgot he had a birthday next month,” Bill said. 

“You boys are the same age, but he’s the older one, right?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“No. I am, by two weeks,” Bill said as they were near Tina. 

“Tina, sweetheart, I’d like you to meet my good friend’s mother,” Bill said. 

“At first, I thought you were flirting with some other woman,” Tina said to her husband.

“No. We are just old friends, Tina. Tina, this is my friend’s mother, Shirley McCarey. Do you remember my friend Jay and I have been friends since high school?” Bill asked.

“Yes. I remember you mentioning it. I have not met him yet, Bill. Where is your son?” Tina asked Mrs. McCarey. 

“He’s at his house, but I don’t know what he could be doing,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You seem to be in good health for someone your age, Mrs. McCarey,” Bill told Jay’s mother.

“Thank you, Bill. Would you and your family like to come to Jay’s house for supper one of these nights?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Is that okay with Jay?” Bill asked, looking into Tina’s eyes. 

“I have to check in with Jay first. I live with Jay now. Both Mr. McCarey and I moved in with him because Mr. McCarey had a back problem and died just two days ago,” Mrs. McCarey told Bill and Tina. 

They walked into JCPenney and let Mrs. McCarey do her birthday shopping for Jay. 

“We have three healthy children. Their names are Ken, Diane, and June. Ken is our oldest. He is nine, and Diane is seven and June is five,” Tina told Mrs. McCarey. 

“That’s what I call happy children. Where are your children?” 

“One of them is staying at a friend’s house right now, but we’re leaving in a minute or so to pick her up. We hope June had fun staying at her friend’s house while we went to the mall,” Tina told Mrs. McCarey. 

“So the only children I see with you at the moment are Ken and Diane?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Right. Ken is our shy child. He doesn’t talk at all,” Bill told her. 

“I see that. Jay used to be like that until he met you,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I think I remember that. When I first saw him in math class that day, he had the shyest look on his face as if he did not want any friends. Wanted to be by himself,” Bill told Mrs. McCarey. 

“At least you found away to get him to talk to people. Let him tell you what he is doing for a living, Bill. You will find it interesting. Please come for supper one of these nights and take the children with you,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“We’ll talk about it. Is Jay married?” Bill asked. 

“No. His job keeps him from dating and having a marriage,” Mrs. McCarey told the Thompsons. 

They finished shopping and Bill and Tina were ready to pick up June at her friend’s house. 

“We’ll think about it. Could we have Jay’s number?” he asked. 

She wrote it down, along with his address in case they needed it if they were coming over for supper. 

“Thanks, Mrs. McCarey,” Bill said. 

“It was nice meeting you, Mrs. McCarey,” Tina said. 

“I enjoyed meeting you too,” Mrs. McCarey said and watched them walk out of the mall doors with their two children. 

She went to the pay phone and called Jay. She was also ready to go home herself. Jay saw in the kitchen that it was 4:30. He did a lot of research on Elvis’s cousins and their backgrounds. He thought it was interesting.


	38. Chapter 38

He was at the mall in no time. 

“You did quite a lot of shopping, Mom,” he said, helping Mrs. McCarey with the bags. 

“I know. Always ideas for your birthday, so don’t look,” she told him.

“I don’t.” 

While starting the car for the ride home, Mrs. McCarey spoke first.

“Jay, I saw one of your high school friends you went to school friends with,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You did? Who?” Jay asked, getting interested in the subject. 

“The name was Bill Thompson. Do you remember him?” she asked. 

“Sure I do remember good ol’ Bill. What’s new with him?” Jay asked. 

“He’s married now and has three children,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Three kids! Lucky suck. Who’s the lucky girl he married?” Jay asked. 

“Heard the name was Tina. He introduced me. She was pleasant. They had two of their children with them, but said the youngest was at a friend’s house,” Mrs. McCarey said. “Oh. Did he ask about Dad?” Jay asked. 

“He did, but I broke into tears, but mentioned he died,” Mrs. McCarey told her son. 

Mrs. McCarey told Jay that she invited Bill and family over for dinner. 

“Great idea, Mom. Sounds like a great idea. I’d love to see good ol’ Bill again after all these years,” Jay said, loving the idea. 

Jay had no idea where Bill was living now, but would find out eventually.

“Did you meet Bill’s children?” Jay asked. 

“Only two out of three. One of his daughters were at a friend’s house, so I didn’t get to meet her,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Oh.” 

They went to the grocery store and bought some food for thee week. Jay saw the gas prices had gone up. 

“Darn! Gas went up thirty cents,” Jay said, seeing the price. 

He went to his normal gas station and filled up the gas tank. After going to the grocery store, they were home for the day.

“Why don’t we have Bill and his family tonight?” Jay asked. 

“We don’t have Bill’s number, Blue Jay. Let him call us,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“It’s okay for you to give him my number, Mom. Was it the cell number or the house number?” Jay asked. 

“The house number.” 

“Okay.” 

Jay did not have any shows that night, so he stayed home. He saw an UPS truck in front of his house when he was in the middle of helping his mother put the groceries away. 

“My pills must be here,” Jay said as the man rang the bell. 

He put the lettuce down and went to answer the door. He heard the phone ring as well, but let his mother answer it because he was busy with the man at the door. Therefore, Mrs. McCarey put the meat in the fridge and answered the telephone. It was Bill calling, wanting to speak to Jay. Jay was right that his medications had arrived. He had gotten three packages of pills in the mail, so he was going to deal with them in a few moments.

“Jay, Bill’s on the phone,” Mrs. McCarey said, handing Jay the phone. 

“Hi, Bill,” Jay said when he took the phone from his mother. 

“Hi, Jay. I ran into your mother at the mall earlier this afternoon,” he said. 

“She told me. She was thinking of inviting you for dinner,” Jay said. 

“We were talking about that, too, Jay. Does she still want to do that?” Bill asked. 

“Yes, Mom does. She was thinking tonight would be good. What are your plans for tonight?” Jay asked. 

“Let me ask Tina first. One minute,” Bill said. 

He put the phone down. 

“Tina, Jay says that his mother wants us over for supper tonight. Do you have any ideas for tonight?” Bill asked. 

“None at all, Bill. We can go. What time do they want us?” Tina asked. 

“Let me ask him.” 

“Tina says it’s okay we come over. She wants to know what time,” Bill said. 

Jay asked Mrs. McCarey what time Bill and family can come over. 

“Say seven.” 

“Mom says seven o’clock,” Jay said. 

"Fine. I’ll tell Tina,” Bill said. 

“You don’t know how to get to my house, Bill. You’ve never been over,” Jay said. 

“Your mother gave me your address. If we are stuck, we will call for directions. Where is this place?” Bill asked. 

“Henderson.” 

“Oh. June’s friend lives there,” Bill said. 

“Oh.” 

They said good – bye and would see each other at seven. 

“What time are we going to your friend’s house, Bill?” Tina asked. 

“Jay says seven. Hope that’s not too late,” Bill said. 

“Seven’s fine,” Tina said. 

“You three better behave yourselves. Mr. McCarey is a good friend of mine,” Bill told his children. 

“Does he have any kids?” Ken asked. 

“We talked to his mother today and she was saying he’s single, so he doesn’t have any children. His job keeps him busy,” Bill told his son.

“Oh. What does he do?” Tina asked. 

“We’ll find that out tonight when we get there,” Bill said to his wife. 

“He doesn’t even know you’re a murder mystery writer, Bill.” 

“I know he doesn’t, but he’ll know sooner or later. At least that conversation is out of the way, so we’ll go back home to Detroit tomorrow morning,” Bill said. 

It was time to go to Jay’s house. Bill had little trouble finding the house, so he grabbed his cell phone and called the house. Mrs. McCarey answered the phone.

“Hi, Mrs. McCarey. We are on our way to your house, but we are having a little trouble finding it. Would you mind giving us the directions?” Bill asked. 

“I’ll have Jay give you the directions. I have not been living in his house long enough to help you out. Let me put him on so he can tell you how to get here,” she said, handing Jay the phone. 

“Who is it?” he asked. 

“Bill. He’s having trouble getting to the house,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

Jay gave his friend directions and got off the phone. 

While waiting, Jay finished putting everything in order around the house while Mrs. McCarey made dinner. They were having salad, fruit salad, Mr. McCarey’s favorite meal, which was ham, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and corn on the cob.

“That’s Dad’s favorite meal, Mom, and we’re eating it without him,” Jay said. 

“I know, but I thought Bill and his family would like to eat something like this,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

They were having blueberry pie for dessert, along with ice cream. 

Bill parked the car in the driveway. 

“Nice car,” Tina said, seeing Jay’s convertible. 

“I know. I like orange cars,” Bill said, seeing the style on Jay’s convertible. 

“I know you do,” Tina said and helped the kids out of the backseat of the car. 

They could smell the ham cooking from the kitchen. 

“Yum,” Bill said, smelling dinner. 

“I know,” Ken said, agreeing with his father.

Bill rang the doorbell. 

“I wanna ring the bell,” June said, starting to whine a little. 

Jay got up again and saw that his friend was at the door. 

“Hi!” Jay said, seeing the whole family with Bill. 

“Hi, buddy,” Bill said to Jay as they walked into the door. 

“Mom, Bill’s here!” Jay said, closing the door behind Tina. 

The kids started running around the house. 

“Kids, don’t run. This isn’t our house,” Bill told his children. 

Tina and Bill joined Jay on the couch in the living room. Bill sat by Jay on the couch. 

“The meal sounds great, Mrs. McCarey. We were smelling it when we parked the car in the driveway,” Bill said. 

“Well, thank you, Bill. This was Mr. McCarey’s favorite meal,” Mrs. McCarey said, getting a little teary eyed. 

“Where is your old man, Jay? We haven’t gotten a chance to say hello,” Bill said. 

“He died a couple days ago,” Jay said, starting to get sad a little himself. 

“Sorry to hear that, Jay,” Bill said, giving his friend a hug. 

“Don and I were happily married for seventy – one years when he died,” Mrs. McCarey told Bill and Tina. 

“Seventy – one is a long time to be happily married,” Bill said. 

“Sure is, Bill. Bill and I have been happily married for twenty years now, with three healthy children,” Tina told Jay. 

“Wow. Maybe one of these days you’ll be like Mom and Dad at seventy years,” Jay told them. 

“We’ll see, Jay. We will see. We’d like to see that,” Bill said. 

“What else is for dinner?” Bill asked. 

Mrs. McCarey told them what else was on the menu. 

“I can’t have dairy, Mrs. McCarey. I’m allergic,” Bill said. 

“Okay. We won’t let you have any of it, then,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

When the meal was ready, they sat at the dining room table and passed the meal around. Bill touched everything but the macaroni and cheese. 

“We’ve got blueberry pie for dessert,” Mrs. McCarey told the guests. 

“I can have blueberry pie, but not ice cream,” Bill said. 

“Are these food allergies recent?” Jay asked his friend. 

“I’ve had them for about twelve years now, so no,” Bill told Jay. 

“Just wondering,” Jay said. 

Bill was drinking water instead of milk at the table that night. 

They caught up on the latest news over the years since high school. They saved the work life for last. 

“What kind of work do you do, Bill?” Jay asked as Mrs. McCarey got up when the dinner plates were empty. 

He and his mother had noticed that all three children had been fussy throughout the meal.

“I happen to be a murder mystery writer. I finished a convention for murder mystery writers out here three days ago. That is why I am out here, Jay. I’m one of the popular number one bestsellers of mystery writers,” Bill said. 

“Wow. What kind of mystery books do you write?” Mrs. McCarey asked, getting interested. 

“I write about this one series with a woman named Lynda Conway. She is in her mid – twenties, divorced, a beauty pageant judge that solves murder mysteries. She has a younger daughter and an older son from the marriage that she had with her ex. Her children are only eleven and fourteen. They get into so much mischief while she goes out and solves the case. Her son is part of all the crimes she works. He tries to help out and pretends he’s Sherlock Holmes and finds all the dead bodies and the police are always questioning her son about the dead bodies, so he’s the star witness,” Bill said.

“Wow. That’s trouble,” Jay said as they listened to Bill’s wild imagination run away for a while longer. 

“What do you do for a living, Jay?” Tina asked. 

“I am an Elvis Presley impersonator,” Jay said. 

“Sounds fun. I remember when we first met, you would not talk to anyone, and that included me, Jay. Now look at you. You’re on stage, singing famous hits,” Bill said.

“Come to my show sometime and you’ll see how many fans I have. How much longer are you out here?” Jay asked. 

“Only tonight, and we’re going back to Detroit City. Remember that song that Bobby Bare sang in?” Bill asked. 

“I don’t listen to much country, but I remember that one. It was a good song, but a hit,” Jay said. 

“Detroit City is our song,” Tina said. 

They talked for the entire meal of blueberry pie and ice cream. 

“How is your sister?” Bill asked as they grabbed a second piece of pie. 

“Karen’s good. She just recently got married to a red – head male that Mom and Dad really hate. His name is Ralph. We learned Karen could not get pregnant, so she and Ralph adopted two boys from an orphanage in California, so that is what they did. Karen happens to be a cop,” Jay told him. 

“A cop, huh? Interesting. What kind of cop?” Bill asked. 

“A deputy, like Barney Fife,” Jay said. 

“That kind of cop. Does she like it?” Tina asked. 

“Yeah, she does.” 

The kids were gone from the table when they finished the first piece of pie. Tina and Bill did not want them eating two pieces of pie because they both thought two was too much.

“Where are the toys?” June asked. 

“I don’t have kids,” Jay said. 

“How come you’re not married?” Bill asked. 

“It’s the stage that keeps me busy, Bill. I like being single. I just don’t have time to date or have a marriage with a beautiful girl,” Jay told his friend. 

“That happens,” Tina said. 

“Jay went to court not long ago and sued one of Las Vegas’s finest cameramen,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“What happened?” Bill asked. 

Jay told him the story, from beginning to end. 

“Mom and I ran into him just the other day, and Mr. Griswold, he’s the cameraman, and he told me he still wants to put me on television. That guy still makes me angry enough to kill him!” Jay said. 

“How good is your lawyer?” Bill asked.

“She’s the best one out here in Vegas. That is why she is my lawyer, Bill. My manager, Paul, heard about her from someone and recommended her to me. That is why I have her for a lawyer. That Mr. Griswold makes me so mad!” Jay said about to blow his top. 

“I’ll leave you with my whole series I’ve written so far, Jay, so you can see how good I am at writing. I got an English major in college, remember?” Bill asked. 

“I remember that. I’ll find the time to read, but right now I’m pretty busy with that job of mine,” Jay said. 

“Bill, have you heard of this coach named Roger Presley?” Jay asked. 

“I know who he is. He was a popular coach. Coached the Green Bay Packers and was Elvis’s cousin. Elvis would sing the national anthem for the Super Bowl sometimes when the Packers would win the Super Bowl every single year. There were seasons Coach Presley wouldn’t be there because of his health,” Bill said. 

“I heard from some fans that he had asthma. Is that right?” Jay asked. 

“Yes, that’s true. Coach Presley missed three seasons of football because of asthma. That was bad back then. The rest of the time he coached the team himself.” 

“Who took Coach Presley’s place when he was out sick?” Jay asked. 

“A coach named Taylor Fletcher. He now coaches the Packers. He took over the team when Coach Presley died,” Bill said. 

“Bill, honey, we have to leave. We have an early flight back to Detroit City,” Tina said, seeing the clock was chiming ten. 

“Okay. Good idea, sweetie,” Bill said. 

The kids were running around the couch, playing tag. 

“How many times have your father and I told you not to run around someone else’s house?” Tina asked. 

“There aren’t any toys here, Mom,” Ken said.

“Or kids,” Diane complained along with Ken. 

“We’ll talk about that on the way back to the hotel,” Tina told the kids as she started helping them with their jackets. 

“We should get together more often,” Jay said to his friend. 

“I know. When we get back to Detroit, I’m going to get started writing the twenty – sixth Lynda Conway novel,” Bill said. 

He headed to the car, pulled out the twenty-five books, and went back into the house. The books were in a grocery sack. 

“Jay, these are the books I have written. All twenty-five of them. You and your mother can read them together if you wish. The first one was written twenty – five years ago, way before I met Tina,” Bill said. 

“We’ll be sure to go through these books, Bill. We’ll look forward to the next one you’re writing,” Jay said. 

“I’ll send it out when it’s done being published,” he said. 

They gave each other one big hug before Bill and his family walked out the door. 

“Come and visit us in Detroit if you ever make time,” Bill said, handing Jay a business card with his home address. 

Jay stared at it for a moment. 

“Is this just a business number or home number?” Jay asked, seeing the number. 

“This one is the business number and the other is home number,” Bill said, underlining the home number and circling the business phone numbers. 

“Thanks. I will try to remember that. I’ll try calling you sometime,” Jay said and watched them drive off. 

“It was great seeing Bill again, wasn’t it, Jay?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Yeah. He sure didn’t touch the dairy food, did he?” Jay asked. 

“I noticed that myself. Guess that happens if you’re allergic,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Guess so. Those kids sure are hyper,” he said. 

Jay told his mother he was going to turn in. 

“Okay. I will see you in the morning, then. I’ll worry about the dishes before going to bed,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Okay.” 

“What about your meds?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I’ll take those pills, don’t worry, Mom. I haven’t gotten a chance to go through those instructions yet.” 

“Tina, I need to use the bathroom before going to the hotel,” Bill told her. 

He looked like he was going to throw up. 

“You don’t look very good, Bill. We’ll go back to Mr. McCarey’s house and use his bathroom,” Tina said. 

She was in the driver’s seat because Bill did not have the strength to drive. They made it to Jay’s house. 

“What are we doing here, Mom?” Ken asked, because they had parked into Jay’s house. 

“Your father is not feeling good, Ken,” Tina said. 

Mrs. McCarey heard a car park into their driveway and someone locked the car and rings the doorbell. Even Jay heard it. He let his mother answer it because she was closer to the door than he was. 

“Hello, Tina, Bill,” he heard Mrs. McCarey say to his friends. 

“May we use your bathroom, Mrs. McCarey? Bill isn’t feeling very good,” Tina said.

“Come right in and I’ll show you,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

She closed the door behind them and showed Tina and Bill where the bathroom was.

“Thank you, Mrs. McCarey,” Bill said and rushed into the bathroom. 

Tina closed the door behind her husband. 

Jay came out of his bedroom just then. 

“Hi, Tina,” Jay said. 

“Hi, Mr. McCarey,” Tina said. 

“Call me Jay,” he told her. 

“Jay, come here,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

He followed his mother to the kitchen. 

“What? What are Bill and his family doing here? I thought they were going to New York New York,” he said. 

“They were, but he wasn’t feeling too great, so he had to use the bathroom,” Mrs. McCarey told her son. 

“That’s too bad, Mom.” 

They heard Tina knock on the bathroom door since Bill did not come out right away.

“Bill, are you all right?” Jay and Mrs. McCarey both heard her ask from behind the door. 

He did not answer her. She told the children to go to Jay and Mrs. McCarey while she went to check on their father. They did just that. Tina let herself into the bathroom since Bill did not answer the door. She found him sitting on the floor. 

“Are you all right, Bill?” Tina asked him. 

“No. I could not face that macaroni and cheese or that ice cream we had earlier tonight. Made me throw up,” he told his wife. 

“It’s your allergy, right, Bill?” she asked, worried. 

“Worse than that. The doc said I could get asthma anytime soon, and I think I’m getting it now!” he said. 

“Oh, dear, Bill. You can’t be serious,” she said. 

“I am, Tina. Call a doctor,” he said. 

Mrs. McCarey was busy worrying about Bill because she did not know what was going on in the bathroom with him and Tina. 

“Ken, tell Mrs. McCarey to call an ambulance. Tell her we’re thinking your father might have asthma,” Tina told their son. 

Ken did as told and repeated his mother’s message to Jay and Mrs. McCarey. Jay made the call to the ambulance and they promised they would be there at the house right away.

“Poor Bill,” Mrs. McCarey said, feeling sorry for Bill and Tina.

The ambulance showed up right away and took Bill away to the hospital. Tina and the children went to the hospital in the car. Jay told Tina to call them once they found out what Bill’s problem was. 

“Will do,” Tina said as they drove off. 

Bill ended up in the hospital for over a day. Turned out he did not have asthma, just a stomache or virus. 

“I’ll go call Mr. McCarey like we promised and tell him what is wrong. Good thing you didn’t have asthma, Bill,” Tina said, very happy about that. 

She went right to the pay phone and dialed the phone. Jay was home, so he answered the phone. Mrs. McCarey was asleep because she had a headache. 

“Good thing Bill didn’t have asthma, Tina. That would worry me like you and the kids. The kids are fine. We are looking after them. When are you getting Bill discharged from the hospital?” Jay asked. 

“I hope soon. We want to go back to Detroit. He wants to get back on writing his new novel,” Tina said. 

“We never talked about what you did for a living, Tina. What do you do?” Jay asked.

“I’m a chef. I even own my own restaurant,” Tina said. 

“Interesting. How does Bill eat your food if he’s allergic to all that dairy?” Jay asked.

“He comes to the restaurant, Mr. McCarey. He will take the kids with him so they can have a little something there, but he will not touch anything himself, maybe water, but that is about it. Tell the kids to behave themselves a little bit longer, then Bill and I will be there by dinnertime and we will head for the road. We took our car. We didn’t fly to the convention,” Tina said. 

“Oh. We will tell the kids what you said. Should we feed them dinner or what?” Jay asked.

“No. We’ll eat on the way,” Tina said. 

“Okay.” 

They got off the phone. 

“Your mother and father are on their way soon,” Jay told the children. 

“How is Dad?” Ken asked who worried about Bill the whole time his father was in the hospital. 

“He’s feeling a lot better, Ken. Your mother said it was either a stomache or a stomach virus. We are not sure which one it was. Did he ever get that sick with food allergies back home?” Jay asked Ken. 

Ken was quiet for a while so he could think for a while before answering Jay’s question. He answered again ten minutes later. 

“Dad was sick for about a week or two when we found out he was sick with those allergies. He did try eating ice cream once, but then got sick for over two weeks or something. I do not remember what happened, but he ended up staying in bed for over a week or so, throwing up in the bathroom every two hours nonstop. I remember that well,” Ken said. 

“I remember that too,” Diane said. 

“And Daddy had eaten macaroni and cheese one time on accident for a snack or something and didn’t feel so great. I guess he was already allergic to it and found one of us kids were eating that and found it in the freezer and accidentally grabbed it out and started eating it and thought it was something else. He was really sick for quite a while,” Diane told Jay. 

“I can tell by hearing this from you kids that he doesn’t touch dairy foods and drinks anymore. We noticed he did not touch anything at dinner and dessert the other night. How could he get sick if he didn’t touch anything?” Jay asked. 

“Don’t know,” June said.

Mrs. McCarey heard Bill and Tina pull up in the driveway, so she was already awake, but didn’t want to get up from her bed, but decided to get out of her bedroom and say hello to whoever was at the door. Her headache was turning into a fever. 

“Mom, Bill and Tina are here to pick up the kids,” Jay told her. 

“Okay. I want to say good – bye to the children,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Okay. How’s your headache, Mom?” Jay asked when Bill let Tina ring the bell. 

Jay let them in before Mrs. McCarey could answer his question. 

“Hi, Bill, Tina,” Jay said, letting his friend and wife into the house. 

After Bill, Tina, and the kids left, the phone rang.


	39. Chapter 39

Karen was calling to see how Mrs. McCarey was doing on worrying about Jay and his health. He answered the phone.

“Hi, Karen,” Jay said. 

“Hi, Jay. How is Mom?” Karen asked. 

“She wasn’t feeling well today. She has a headache,” Jay said. 

“Those are horrible, Jay. How is she doing now?” Karen asked. 

“I haven’t found out. We had a friend over,” Jay said.

“Who was your friend?” Karen asked. 

“I don’t know if you remember him, but he was a friend I went to high school with. Bill Thompson.” 

“Him! I have seen his books around all over the place. They are so popular,” Karen said.

“Are they?” Jay asked.

“Yes. Number one bestsellers,” Karen told her brother.


	40. Chapter 40

A week had passed since Bill and Tina had came home to Detroit from Las Vegas. Bill heard his next book going written with Jessica Fletcher. He was thrilled to be writing with somebody new. He got on his computer in his office and began writing after he had gotten on the phone with Jessica in Maine. They had thrown some ideas together for their next book together. They both liked the ideas the two of them had come up. He began writing and stayed there for a long time that day. Tina knew he was busy, so she stayed out of his way. 

He read what he had written on the computer when he finished an hour later. He loved what he had written and hoped Jessica would agree to it. A year had passed and the book became a number one New York bestseller hit from the two of them. It was a Murder, She Wrote series. He was impressed what the reviews had to say about the book. He sent Jay a copy of the book as he had promised when it is being published. Jay had the time to read all the books Bill had written. Jay was impressed that his friend had written with another famous author who had a television series. 

“Mom, look at the new book Bill sent,” Jay said, taking the book out of the package that UPS had sent to the house that Monday morning. 

“What kind of book is it that Bill wrote this time?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“It’s a Murder, She Wrote book. It’s a New York number one Bestseller written with Jessica Fletcher,” Jay said. 

“I know who she is, Blue Jay. She has that TV show,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Right on, Mom. Let’s see what this book has,” he said, and began to open it. 

He read what the book the reviews loved his best friend. 

He opened it to chapter one. He got to the second chapter in no time. He was really into the book so far.

 

“Mom, this is a really good book. Listen to this,” Jay said, reading the beginning of the chapter. 

“What did Bill come up with this time?” Mrs. McCarey wanted to know. 

“Listen and I’ll tell you.” 

He cleared his throat. 

“Jessica, my niece, Lynda Conway, is coming to Cabot Cove this afternoon. She is here to judge a beauty pageant and she does not know anybody out here in Cabot Cove. I was wondering if you’d like to show her around and introduce her around to everyone,” my best friend Seth Hazlitt said. 

“Sure, Seth, I’d be happy to. When is she coming?” I asked. 

“Around three or four o’clock this afternoon,” Seth answered. 

Jay read more of the chapter to Mrs. McCarey, so he cleared his throat a second time.

“Does she have a place to stay, Seth?” I asked. 

“She’s staying at my house, so I told her it was okay,” Seth told me. 

I watched Seth glance at his watch. 

“I’ve got to get back to my office, Jessica. I have a patient coming in my office within thirty minutes. Thanks for showing my niece around Cabot Cove while she’s here for the three weeks she’s in Cabot Cove,” Seth told me. 

“No problem, Seth. I’d be happy to do it for you anytime,” I said and watched him leave the restaurant. 

I paid the bill, headed out the door myself, got on my bike, and went to my house.

I looked at my watch and saw the time read 12:15. Seth had said his niece’s plane was coming in around three or four o’clock that afternoon. I thought I would meet her at the airport. He had told me she had brown hair with blue eyes and stood at five feet three inches. I did chores around the house until two – thirty and called a cab to take me to the airport so I could meet Seth’s niece. She was already there when I arrived. I saw the brown hair and the five inches and three inches Seth had told me about. 

I went up to the young woman and said, “Are you Lynda Conway?” 

She heard her name and looked at me. 

“Yes, I am,” Lynda answered, grabbing her luggage. 

“I’m Jessica Fletcher. Your Uncle Seth wanted me to meet you here when you arrived at the airport,” I told her. 

“Uncle Seth really didn’t have to do that. I could take a cab to his house, Mrs. Fletcher,” Lynda said. 

“He tells me you’re some kind of judge. Is that right?” I asked. 

“Yes, Mrs. Fletcher. A beauty pageant judge. I’ve been doing that for a couple years now,” Lynda said and I helped her with the luggage. 

Jay had finished reading to his mother. 

“That Bill sure has some writing talent there, Blue Jay,” Mrs. McCarey said when Jay finished reading to her. 

“Yeah, I know. This is the first time I’ve seen his work, Mom,” Jay said. 

“He’s never seen you on stage singing Elvis, has he?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I don’t think he has,” Jay said.


	41. Chapter 41

Bill had called Jay just then, wanting to let his friend know that the family had made it to Detroit safely. 

“How was the trip back to Detroit, Bill?” Jay asked. 

“Fine. Everyone made it back safe, Jay. Thought you’d like to know,” Bill said. 

“That’s good to hear. We got your book and reading it now. Mom says you have writing talent,” Jay said. 

“Tell her thank you. That’s why I got an English degree in college,” he pointed out.

“Karen asked about you, Bill,” Jay said, remembering the phone call he got from his younger sister. 

“She did? How is she?” Bill asked. 

“Fine,” Jay said. 

“Tina was wondering if you’d like to visit Detroit sometime if you can get away from the stage,” Bill said. 

“I’d love to, but let me check my schedule and I can call you back right away. Can I bring my guitar with me?” Jay asked. 

“Why not?” Bill said. 

“How are you feeling since you went to the hospital that night you had dinner at my house?” Jay asked his best friend. 

“Right now I’m in bed because I’m not feeling so hot. I had to pay a visit to the doc when we got back to find out why I went to the hospital that night. He said it was asthma, so that’s what I’m stuck with for the rest of my life,” Bill said.

“That’s too bad, Bill. We saw you didn’t touch any of the macaroni and cheese and ice cream or milk when you were over,” Jay said.

“Like I told you when I showed up for dinner, I couldn’t eat or drink any of it because I’m allergic to that stuff, Jay. I have had that food allergy problem for twelve years now. I learned from my doctor that you could get asthma from it. That’s what he pointed out,” Bill said. 

“Oh, Bill. The doctor is not going to let you be sick for the rest of your life like that, is he?” Jay asked. 

“Yes, he is, Jay. I have not had any problems quite yet. He put me on twelve medicines, for crying out loud! I don’t need that many!” Bill said. 

“How long do you want me to stay in Detroit, Bill? You name it and I’ll stay there,” Jay said, changing the subject. 

“I haven’t yet talked about that part with Tina, but we will once we get your schedule from you. The kids will be in school, but that’s all we know so far,” Bill said. 

“Should I make hotel reservations?” Jay asked. 

“No, you don’t have to. I’m sure Tina could tidy up the guest room here at the house for you,” Bill told his friend. 

“Are you sure you want me to stay at your house with a house full of children?” Jay asked. 

“Why not?” Bill asked. 

“It’s a lot better than paying for a hotel room,” Bill pointed out. 

“I guess you have a point there,” Jay said, seeing what Bill meant. 

“Can Mom come along or not? How big is the guest room?” Jay asked. 

“It’s big enough for one person, Jay.” 

“Oh. I guess that means Mom can’t come then,” Jay said, disappointed. 

“We’re only inviting you, Jay. Sorry,” Bill said. 

“I see,” Jay said. 

They talked for a while longer, and got off the phone when they said good – bye.


	42. Chapter 42

Jay got his car keys and drove over to the Hilton Hotel. He talked to his manager about a vacation. He let Jay take a whole month off from the stage. Jay thanked Paul and headed to get his guitar. That is when he ran into Barry Manilow. 

“What’s with the guitar?” Barry asked him. 

“I’m taking a month’s vacation. Paul said I could go, so I’m taking my guitar with me,” Jay told him.

“Cool. Where are you spending your vacation?” Barry asked. 

“Detroit. My good friend lives there. Bet you know him. His name’s Bill Thompson,” Jay said. 

“I know who he is. The news talked about him the other night or so. Isn’t he a mystery writer?” Barry asked. 

“That’s he. I have known him since we were in high school. What’s this about him being on TV?” Jay asked, getting interested. 

“I heard on the nine o’clock news the other night or so that they said he was in the hospital out here for a night or so. Also heard he’s got asthma,” Barry said. 

“I know he’s got that. He told me on the phone a while ago,” Jay said, remembering their phone conversation. 

He and Barry talked for a few minutes longer and gave each other a handshake and Jay left the hotel with his guitar in his right hand. He headed for his waiting car in the parking lot, unlocked the trunk, put the guitar in it, and drove back home.


	43. Chapter 43

He called Bill once he walked into the house. He found his mother lying on the couch, taking a nap, so he was quiet. He had his guitar on the living room floor. He made the call to Bill in Detroit in his bedroom. 

“Bill, I’m returning your phone call about my schedule about the trip. I’m taking one whole month off,” Jay said. 

“Cool. You can come any day you wish, Jay. Tina said she’ll get the guest room for you whenever you wish to fly out,” Bill said. 

“Okay. Are you still bringing your guitar?” Bill asked. 

“Yes. I have it right here in my living room. You’ve never heard me do Elvis, have you?” Jay asked his friend. 

“Not yet, we haven’t. Maybe the kids will give you a listen as well,” Bill said. 

“A good idea, Bill. I could always have a new audience.” 

“How many Elvis songs do you know?” Bill asked.

“All of them.” 

“Amazing. Tina wanted to know, that is all. I’ll give her her answer.” 

They said good – bye and were off the phone. 

Bill had given Jay the directions how to get to the house once he got to the airport. Jay had told Bill he was planning to get a rental. 

“You can’t miss it. It’s easy to find,” Bill told Jay. 

Mrs. McCarey was waking up from her nap when Jay was putting the phone back in its place in the kitchen. 

“How was your nap, Mom?” Jay asked. 

“Fine. I was pretty tired,” she said. 

“I’m taking a month’s vacation from Elvis, Mom. I am going to visit Bill and family for the whole month. You think you can manage being by yourself while I am gone? They only have a guest room big enough for one person,” Jay said, remembering what Bill had told him. 

“I’ll be fine, Jay. I won’t have a man around the house to protect me when a burglar comes to the house and steals something,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“We have Logan next door. He will be there to protect you. Trust me,” Jay said. 

“I don’t need the neighbors, Blue Jay. I want you,” she said. 

“We know Dad’s not here anymore, Mom. I want you to give Karen and her husband a chance. Especially Ralph. He has done no harm. Let Karen protect you. You know she’s a cop,” Jay pointed out. 

“No way I’m trusting that no good husband of hers, Blue Jay. You know I do not like him. Take me with you and I’ll stay in a no good hotel room and you stay with Bill.” 

“They invited only myself out there, Mom.” 

“I understand,” she said, still lonesome. 

He kept trying to get Mrs. McCarey to have Karen and Ralph come out to stay with her while he went out to Detroit and stop worrying about him. 

Then she finally gave in to let Karen and Ralph stay over for the whole month he would visit Bill and Tina in Detroit. 

“Thanks, Mom. I want to see you trust Ralph this one time while I am gone. That’s the one thing Karen and I want from you,” Jay said.


	44. Chapter 44

He called Karen later that night and told her what was going on. 

“Sure, Ralph and I will be happy to fly out to Las Vegas and stay with Mom for a month while you go out and visit with Bill, Jay. We will leave the boys with the neighbors. We do not want them missing school,” Karen said. 

“Doesn’t Ralph have a job to go to?” Jay said, thinking about Ralph’s teaching job. 

“Yes, but I think we can try to get some time off. We know you want to see Bill,” Karen said. 

“Thanks. I told Mom to give Ralph one chance while you two are out here at my house.”

“Good for you. I’d like to see that too,” Karen said to her brother. 

They got off the phone after blowing each other a kiss and saying good – bye.


	45. Chapter 45

Jay decided to leave around lunchtime the next day. He got on the lunchtime flight to Detroit. He called Bill sometime that morning and told him he was catching the twelve o’clock flight to Detroit. 

“Okay. We will see you sometime soon, Jay. How did your mom react when you told her you were coming out here?” Bill asked. 

“She wanted to come instead of staying behind by herself in one house. She did not trust my brother – in – law one time and my sister to protect her in case something happens, but I talked her into it anyway. She does not like him at all, and Dad sure did not, either. They think Ralph is too old for Karen. They know he has a good job and all, but they think he’s on the poison side of the family,” Jay said, “but I have no problem at all with Ralph. He’s harmless.” 

Jay got on the plane on time. He did eat lunch on the plane instead of at home. He listened to rock and roll the entire flight. It was mostly Elvis. He heard tune after tune, song after song. When he got tired of Elvis, he changed to the 1950s. He sat by a talk show host on the airplane. He had no idea who he was, but stayed out of conversation the whole flight. He kept his music on instead of talking. The talk show host knew who Jay was. 

“You’re Jay McCarey, right?” he asked. 

“I’ve seen you in Las Vegas a few times. You throw good shows,” he said.

“Thank you, sir,” Jay said, going back to his music. 

“I would like to have you on my show sometime if you are interested, Mr. McCarey,” the talk show host said. 

Jay heard what he had said.

“You’ll have to talk to my manager about that, sir,” Jay said. 

Jay had a safe and quiet flight to Detroit. When he first arrived, he decided to get his luggage and guitar at the baggage claim and then get a rental car after that. He got his cell phone and dialed Bill’s house number. He thought Bill would like to know he made it safely without any accidents to Detroit.

“Bill, Jay. Thought you’d like to know I made it to Detroit without any delays,” Jay said when Bill got on the phone. 

“Glad to hear you could make it. Tonight we are having a nice home – cooked meal. How does that sound?” Bill asked. 

“Great. What’s cooking?” Jay asked. 

“Tina says it’s a surprise. She thought she would surprise you on your first night in Detroit City,” Bill said. 

“Okay by me. I’m on my way to a rental car and I’ll be by soon,” Jay said. 

“Okay.” 

They were off the phone. 

Jay wondered what his first meal would be while he went to get the rental. He wondered what kind of foods were in the house since Bill could not have dairy. He wondered how Bill picked up the dairy allergy problem twelve years ago, but did not want the family to start talking about the problem again, but he did want to know more. He found Bill’s house with no trouble at all. The kids were outside playing when he parked the rental outside the house. He found Ken picking on Diane and June. The three of them were busy running around the yard when he got out of the car and parked it in the driveway. They did not see Jay’s car in the driveway. He found June pretending to lie dead on the ground.

“Ken, look! June’s dead now! You killed her!” 

Jay watched Diane run after Ken in the yard. 

“I did not, Diane! You know it!” he yelled as they ran into the yard three times in a row.

“Hi, June. Do you remember me? I am your daddy’s friend. You stayed at my house for dinner one night,” Jay said. 

June got up from lying on the ground. 

“Hi,” she said shyly. 

She thought he was a stranger. 

“Is Daddy at home? Will you go in and tell Daddy Mr. McCarey is here?” Jay asked.

“Okay,” June said and ran into the house. 

He stayed where he was and watched the older two run after one another in the yard. Bill came outside and found Jay standing there watching Ken and Diane run around the yard.

“Hi, Jay. Glad you could make it. Need help?” Bill asked. 

“I’m fine. It’s not much,” Jay said. 

“I’ll carry it anyway. June told me you were here,” Bill said. 

“I asked her to tell you,” Jay said. 

“Oh. Ken, Diane, stop running around like that. We don’t want you two to get hurt,” Bill told the two who were running around after one another. 

“Where’s Tina?” Jay asked after the two men walked into the two – story house. 

“At the restaurant. She is working another hour and then coming home. Your room set for you. She did it last night,” Bill said and showed his friend where he was sleeping while he was staying in Detroit. 

“Thanks, Bill. I could have stayed at a hotel. You didn’t have to let me stay as a guest in your house,” Jay said.

“We’re buddies,” Bill reminded him. 

Bill showed Jay where the guest room was. 

When Bill opened the door of the guest room, he said, “You can unpack now if you wish.” 

“I’ll wait a little longer to unpack. I don’t feel like doing that now,” Jay said. 

He wanted to visit with Bill instead of unpacking his things he brought. He set his suitcase and guitar in the bedroom, closed the door, and found Bill in the living room.

“Bill, what do I do about food while I’m staying here? I do remember about your food allergy,” Jay said. 

“Jay, Tina and I had a talk the other night. She asked if you were a smoker, and I told her you were not that kind of guy who did not smoke. She was worried about that because of my asthma. She was also worried about that because of the kids and their health. We have heard that this kind of thing runs in families,” Bill told Jay.

“That’s too bad. What kind of health do the kids have?” Jay wanted to know. 

“They’re like Tina, who don’t have any problems at all quite yet,” Bill said. 

“That’s good,” Jay said. 

“We know it is. That is why she worries a lot about the kids. She has been worried about them ever since this food allergy showed up twelve years ago and now asthma showed up, she is worried about Ken, Diane and June more than ever. She thinks they’ll catch asthma from me if I don’t watch myself,” Bill said. 

“You can’t help it, Bill. Nobody can. In case you do not know, I just recently got low blood pressure not long ago. When I got the news about Dad’s death, I passed out on the stage while performing Elvis songs in front of the whole audience one night. Karen thought it had something to do with Dad’s death. She could be right,” Jay told his best friend. 

Bill did not say anything on that, so he was quiet. 

“Jay, this whole Elvis impersonating thing. What made you do it?” Bill asked who was getting interested. 

“I don’t know. I was interested and thought it would be a good job performing, so I got started doing it after high school. I thought to myself one day, since Elvis performed at the Hilton. Therefore, I went ahead and tried it myself, and ever since then, I have been a hit. People love me. I do not want to leave the stage, Bill. Dad told me that when I first tried out for the impersonating thing, he said if it didn’t work out, it was insurance for me,” Jay said. 

“Guess the old man was wrong. What kind of audience do you have?” Bill asked. 

“Sold out shows every time, Bill. I’ve been doing that ever since I first started,” Jay said.

“Wow. I don’t believe that,” Bill said. 

“Bill, you never answered my question I asked,” Jay said. 

“About what?” Bill asked. 

“What I should do about food when I’m staying here while I’m staying here with you for the month. I know you are allergic to dairy. Any idea what I should do?” Jay asked.

“Sorry I didn’t answer that, Jay. I was not listening earlier. Tina is cooking a surprise dinner tonight when she gets home from work, but she will not say what because she wants you to be surprised,” Bill said. 

“I like surprises,” Jay said. 

“That’s good. I will let you ask Tina that question instead of me, Jay. She will tell you what to do. I am not answering this question. You know, allergies,” Bill said. 

“Okay. I’ll ask her tonight,” Jay said.

“Bill, you know who I sat by on the airplane today?” Jay asked. 

“No. Who?” Bill asked. 

He did not have any guesses.

“I bet you probably know him. Joe Davis,” Jay said. 

“That TV talk show host? I was on his TV show a year ago. He interviewed me for a book I wrote. That’s how I was on the show,” Bill said, remembering the talk show host now. 

“Mr. Davis was saying he wants me on his show, Bill, but I told him he’ll have to talk to my manager,” Jay said. 

“Good way to put it. Do you think you’ll ever have time to go on a TV show?” Bill asked. 

“I don’t know.” 

Bill was watching TV when Tina came home that evening at six o’clock from work. 

“Hi, Bill. Did Jay come from the flight?” Tina asked. 

“Yes, he did, sweetheart. That must be the rental you saw out in the driveway,” Bill said.

“Where is Jay now?” Tina asked. 

“Taking a nap.” 

“Good idea. He must be tired from the flight. I will get started on dinner. We’re having tacos,” Tina said. 

“Yum. Good thing mine is not with cheese. Yick. You know, the allergy,” Bill said. 

“Yes. I have not forgotten, Bill, dear. I’ll let the kids eat the cheese for you, since you can’t have any of it,” Tina said. 

Jay woke up when he heard Tina cooking in the kitchen. 

“Jay was telling me he sat by Joe Davis on the plane today,” Bill said. 

“That talk show host. I hate that show, Bill. I only watch it because it will be the only thing on at the hour. Since Bill O’Rielly has Dennis Miller and Dennis has Jerry Duncan on his show. I don’t like Jerry Duncan much,” Tina said. 

“Everyone’s different, Tina, dear. Jay says he was asked to go on Joe Davis’s show,” Bill said. 

Jay had gotten out of the guest room and headed for the bathroom. He saw how neat it was when he closed the door behind himself. 

The phone rang and Bill picked it up. He told the caller that Ken would call back after dinner was over. Jay came out of the bathroom and Tina was setting the table.

“Hi, Jay. How was your flight?” Tina asked when he entered the living room. 

“Fine, Tina. Just fine,” Jay said. 

“Bill was telling me about Joe Davis,” Tina said. 

“Yes, that part is very true,” Jay said.

“How does Joe know who you are?” Tina asked, going back to the meat. 

“He told me he’s seen me a few times at the Hilton,” Jay said. 

“Interesting. Is this why he wants you on the show?” she asked. 

“I don’t know why he wants me,” Jay said. 

“His show is very lousy, Jay. I’ve seen it a lot of time enough to know,” Tina said. 

“Tina, I’ve already asked Bill this, but he said he wasn’t responding to this question, so he said to ask you,” Jay said. 

“What?” Tina asked. 

“What should I do about food while I’m out here with you guys for the month? I know Bill’s allergic to dairy and all, but I don’t want to budge in,” Jay said. 

“You can eat here in the mornings, if you wish. We’d be happy to pay for your meals, no matter where you go,” Tina said. 

“That’s really kind of you, Tina,” Jay said. 

“Or, you can buy your own food,” Tina suggested.

“I know how to cook, Tina. I don’t want to eat out every single day,” Jay said, liking the idea of eating at the house. 

“Tina, the place you work at, does Bill eat any of the food there?” Jay asked. 

“No, Jay. It is Mexican, so he stays out of it. He’s allergic to the food I cook there have a lot of dairy,” Tina told Jay. 

“I see.” 

“Tina, dear, Jay brought along his guitar. He might even put on some shows for us while he is here. He wants us to hear him do Elvis,” Bill said. 

“Okay. We can do that,” Tina said. 

“How many Elvis songs do you know, Jay?” Tina asked. 

“Every one of them.” 

“Amazing,” Tina said, putting the cheese and tomatoes in two different bowls and setting the bowls on the table. 

“You mean to tell me you even know Jailhouse Rock, Fame and Fortune, It’s Now Or Never, Good Luck Charm, Viva Las Vegas, and Return to Sender?” Tina asked. 

“Right on, Tina. I know every one of them.” 

“Double amazing,” Tina said, not believing him. 

“Why don’t we play those tunes tonight?” Bill asked. 

“Okay. I’ll sing more of them too,” Jay said, having more of the songs in thought. 

“Okay. We’ll have the children listen,” Tina said. 

Bill loved the idea of the kids listening to his friend sing and play in front of his family. Tina called everyone to the table. Bill went to the playroom and told the kids to wash up and come to the dinner table.

“You know what I did at one of my shows?” Jay asked Bill and Tina. 

“What did you do?” Bill asked him. 

“I put on a sermon instead of a rock show. You know how big Elvis was with gospel music back then. I thought I would put together a sermon for my audience. You know, something different. I thought I would do something that an Elvis impersonator has never done before, so I went ahead and did it. You know some of the Elvis impersonators marry people, but I thought, well, why not try preaching. So I went ahead and gave it a shot,” Jay said. 

“When was this?” Bill asked. 

“Sometime before Dad died. Even Mom and Karen and her husband Ralph were there in the audience to see me. Mom said that she and Dad and Karen were surprised that I could do it, but kept hearing people yawning at me,” Jay said. 

“They did that.” Tina asked. 

“Yes, they did. I even heard it myself. I even got a boo also. I thought they would like something different for a change, but I guess not,” Jay said. 

The kids came in just then and joined the other three at the kitchen table. When the kids sat down, Tina let Jay say grace, which he did. 

During the meal, they heard Ken burp up his second taco. 

“Ken, what do you say?” Tina asked.

“Excuse me,” he said. 

“That’s better,” she said.

June could not sit still during the meal, but Tina and Bill had to tell her to stay at the table and eat a thousand times. Diane was like that also. Jay noticed how quiet Ken was at the table. He did not talk once. He did remember when Bill and Tina were at the house for dinner that one night when his mother cooked dinner, Bill told him Ken was the shy one.

He remembered he was like Ken when he first met Bill in the ninth grade. 

“Kids, we want you to listen to Jay tonight. He is going to play his guitar and sing to the whole family. His job is being an Elvis impersonator,” Bill told the kids. 

The kids did not say anything. June and Diane wanted to run around the house instead of sitting at the table with the rest of their family. 

“You mean you’re a singer. Awesome,” Diane said, being interested in what Jay did.

“Are you like Madonna?” Ken asked. 

“No, I’m not, Ken. I am not like these popular stars today. I just do it because it is fun. I do not make number one singles and stuff like that. Being an impersonator is different than being a famous star,” Jay told the kids. 

“How many songs do you know?” June asked. 

“A lot. I know all the Elvis songs,” he said, answering her question. 

“Wow,” she said. 

Dinner was over and Tina cleared the table with Bill’s help. She offered to do the dishes. The kids already gone from the kitchen table and were watching cartoons. 

“Kids, go do your homework before you do anything else,” Bill told them. 

They heard what their father told them and left the living room and headed up to their bedrooms and did their homework. Bill turned the TV off. 

“We can give you a listen once the kids finish their homework if you’d like, Jay,” Bill said. 

“Okay. That can work out fine. What time do those kids go to bed?” Jay asked. 

“Eight – thirty,” Bill said. 

“Just wondering,” he said.

Ken finished his homework before the other two did, so he came out of his room and headed down the stairs. 

“You finished, Ken?” Bill asked. 

“Yes, Dad,” he said. 

“The whole family is going to listen to Jay sing Elvis once the girls finish their homework. Okay?” Bill asked. 

“Okay, Dad.” 

Jay left the room and headed for the guest room to get his guitar. He came back in time to find Diane and June on the couch with Bill. 

“Are we ready yet?” Jay asked.

“Yes,” Bill said.

Bill has to name the first tune for Jay to sing which was “Are You Lonesome Tonight.” Jay sang it to the family. 

When finished, he asked, “Well, what do you think?” 

“You sound just like Elvis,” Bill told his friend. 

“Thanks,” Jay said. 

“Do another one,” Tina told him. 

“Okay. What one do you want to hear?” Jay asked her. 

She named “Return to Sender.” 

“I know that one, Tina. It’s one of my favorites.” 

He began to sing when the phone interrupted him. 

“Hold the song, Jay. The phone,” Bill said and got up to answer it. 

“He’s here. One minute. Jay, phone,” Bill said.

Jay put the guitar on the table in the living room where he was with the family and entered the kitchen where Bill was with the phone. 

“Who is it?” Jay whispered to his friend. 

“I don’t know this person who’s calling, Jay, but it’s the name of Paul.” 

“My manager? I see. I gave him your number before I left. I thought he might want it in case he needed me,” Jay said and took the phone from Bill. 

“Hi, Paul,” Jay said as Bill left the kitchen. 

“Hi, Jay. I was on the phone with the TV talk show host, Joe Davis. He told me you two were on the plane together. He wants you on his TV show,” Paul said.

“I know. He told me that too,” Jay said. 

“Are you interested in doing that at some point when you get back from Detroit?” Paul asked. 

“I don’t know, Paul. I am thinking about my career. I don’t want to talk about it tonight, but maybe some other time when there aren’t so many people around the house I’m staying in can hear,” Jay told Paul. 

Right I understand that, Jay. I see you have a birthday coming up in a week or so. Happy birthday,” Paul said. 

“Thanks.” 

They got off the phone. Jay rejoined the family and Bill and picked up his guitar one more time. 

“Where were we before we got interrupted?” Jay asked. 

“Return to Sender,” Tina told him. 

“Right. I almost forgot,” he said and began to play the guitar once again. 

He sang the whole song as he did with “Are You Lonesome Tonight.” He did bring his birthday presents with him from his family because he was going to be celebrating his birthday in Detroit that year, so Mrs. McCarey didn’t have to worry about cooking dinner or baking a birthday cake for him. 

“Two songs are enough, Jay. It’s getting close for the kids to go to bed,” Bill told him.

“We don’t wanna go to bed yet, Daddy,” Diane said to Bill. 

“Sorry, Diane. You know the rules,” he said to his daughter. 

“Darn,” June said, agreeing with Diane. 

Ken did not have time to argue. He was already out of the room and getting ready for bed. Before he did, he said good – night to everyone, including Jay. 

“Good – night, Ken,” Jay said and watched the boy walk into the bathroom and close the door behind himself. 

“I’m getting kind of tired myself. I’d like to go to bed too,” Jay told Tina and Bill. 

“We know you had the plane ride today,” Tina told him. 

“I know. That’s why I’d like to get some sleep,” Jay said, yawning a little. 

“You do look a little tired,” Bill told his friend.

He said good – night to Tina and Bill and took his guitar with him and headed upstairs for the guest room. He put his guitar away, took his pajamas out and his toothbrush and toothpaste out from his suitcase along with his underwear, and headed for the upstairs bathroom that was not far from the guest room. 

He saw how clean the bathroom was when he entered it. He saw a towel hung up for him and everything. He closed the bathroom door and brushed his teeth for a full four minutes as if he did every day and night. He undressed himself, turned the shower on, and got in. He thought more about his impersonating career while he took a shower. He thought more about it while he headed for the guest room and turned the light out for the night. 

He was starting to get tired of singing on stage several nights a month and he wanted something different with his career. He was thinking of trying something different with his career like being a minister. He had tried it once in front of a whole audience onstage, but all they did was yawn at him. He sure did not like that. He fell asleep before the second child could go to bed. He slept until nine – thirty the next morning without hearing a darn thing the whole night through. 

Later that night, Bill and Tina were talking about Jay and his forty – fourth birthday that was coming up. Bill already celebrated his forty – fourth just two or three days ago.

“Tina, Jay’s forty – fourth birthday is coming up in two weeks. Why don’t you bake him one of your famous birthday cakes? He would like that. Just to surprise him. I think it might be a nice surprise for him and how we didn’t forget his birthday this year,” Bill said.

“Okay, Bill. I will do it. What kind of flavor does he like? We know you can’t eat cake because of your allergies,” Tina said. 

“I know. He likes chocolate with vanilla double the chocolate. That’s how he likes it done,” Bill told his wife. 

“I’ll do it the way he likes it. What about gifts? What are we going to do about that?” she asked. 

“Let me handle the gifts, Tina. He is my best friend. I have known the guy since the ninth grade. I’ll handle the birthday gifts while you handle the cooking and baking,” Bill said.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Tina said. 

“Bill, I think a good idea would be is to take him out to dinner for his birthday. What do you think?” Tina asked. 

“I like it. We could go to the Bloodroad,” Bill said, thinking of their favorite restaurant.

“Yum! I love their Mexican food, Bill. We have not been there in a while. Let’s do the Bloodroad!” Tina said, agreeing to the idea. 

“Since I can’t eat the Mexican, I’ll have a salad or something because of allergies,” Bill said.

“Good idea.” 

Jay came downstairs at nine – thirty – five that morning. Tina was already gone and at work when he walked into the kitchen. He found Bill reading the morning paper.

“Hi, Bill,” Jay said. 

“Morning, Jay. Did you get a good night’s sleep?” Bill asked. 

“Sure did. Slept like a rock. I did not hear a darn thing since I turned the light off last night. I didn’t even hear the clock chime every hour like it usually does.” 

“Wow. You must have been tired from that flight yesterday,” Bill said. 

“I was. That’s why I slept so late.” 

He helped himself to some Corn Flakes and coffee and sat down across the table from Bill. He was reading the gossip column in the paper. 

“What are you doing today, Jay?” Bill asked. 

“I don’t know. I have never been here to know, Bill. You know Detroit long enough to know than I do. You can tell me what I can and cannot do out here,” he said.


	46. Chapter 46

Back in Las Vegas, Karen was talking to her mother. 

“Mom, what are we doing for Jay’s birthday this year? Throw a big surprise birthday?” Karen asked. 

“Jay’s not in town this month, Karen. That is why you and no – good Ralph are here in his place for the month. He’s out in Detroit with Bill and his wife Tina,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“Mom, don’t call Ralph names like that. He is a good man. That is one reason I married him. You and Dad should respect my marriage to him,” Karen told Mrs. McCarey. 

“What did you do with Jay’s birthday gifts?” Karen asked. 

“I told him he could take them with him while he’s out in Detroit because we won’t be there to help him celebrate his forty – fourth birthday, Karen. They’ve been wrapped up before he left, so he’ll have to be surprised when he opens them up on Tuesday in two weeks,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I wonder what Bill has planned for him,” Karen said. 

“I don’t know. We’ll never know on that,” Mrs. McCarey said.


	47. Chapter 47

Jay had spent most of the day in the guest room locked up. He wanted to be alone, so he did that and spent most of the time in the guest room thinking about his impersonating career and reading his Bible he had taken along and of course praying for his new minister career. Bill had noticed how many hours Jay had spent upstairs in the guest room. He wanted to know what was going on in the quiet room. He went upstairs to the guest room where his friend was staying and knocked on the door. He did not even hear a sound of music at all during the quiet hours his friend locked up in the guest room.

Jay stopped in the middle of his prayers to answer Bill’s knock. 

“Jay, can we talk?” Bill asked. 

“Okay,” he said, letting Bill into the room. 

“About what?” Jay asked. 

“I haven’t heard one little peep from this room since breakfast this morning. Why the quiet? Is something bothering you? We are friends. You can tell me what’s going on,” Bill said. 

“Nothing’s bothering me, Bill. I’m just thinking that’s all.” 

“Okay. Are you sure you’re not hiding anything from me?” Bill asked. 

“Nothing, Bill, nothing. I am not ready to talk about it quite yet. I am thinking about it for now. When I’m ready, I’ll talk.” 

“Do you know what this peace and quiet reminds me of?” Bill asked. 

“What?” 

“High school.” 

“Bill, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone for a while longer,” Jay said. 

“Okay. What were you doing with all this quiet?” Bill asked. 

“Prayer.” 

“Oh. About what?” 

“That’s something you’re not to know about until I’m ready to tell you.” 

“I see. I’m going into town for a couple hours,” Bill said. 

“Okay. I won’t mind being alone for a couple hours,” Jay said. 

“I’ll call if I’m going to be late.” 

“Don’t bother. I probably won’t answer anyway,” Jay said.

Bill said good – bye to Jay on his downstairs, headed for the car in the garage, and drove away.


	48. Chapter 48

He headed for the mall that was six blocks away or more. He parked in the mall parking lot. He saw a good friend of his named Jeffrey Parker. 

“Hi, Bill. I have not seen you for a while. What’s up?” Jeff asked. 

“Not much, Jeff. My best friend from high school is out to visit me for a month. He’s staying for a month,” Bill said. 

“Who is this high school friend of yours? Do I know him?” Jeff asked. 

“No, you don’t know him, Jeff. His name is Jay McCarey. We’re the same age, but he’s two weeks younger than I am,” Bill said. 

“You mean to tell me this Jay person is going to be forty – four in two weeks?” Jeff asked.

“Yes, Jeff. We are the same age but two weeks apart. His old man was in insurance. I loved his old man. I didn’t know my own father that well because he was abusive,” Bill said. 

“That’s no good. We don’t like people who do that,” Jeff said. 

“I’m out birthday shopping for my pal, Jeff. You can come along if you’d like,” Bill said.

“Maybe I will,” Jeff said. 

They walked into RadioShack. Bill thought he would find something for Jay there that would be useful. 

“What does Jay do for a living?” Jeff asked. 

“He’s an Elvis Presley impersonator,” Bill answered. 

“How interesting. An Elvis Presley impersonator and a mystery writer who are best friends. I like that. Does he have any other friends besides you?” Jeff asked. 

“I don’t know. I haven’t found that out as yet,” Bill said.

Chapter 58 

In the middle of Jay’s prayers, he heard his cell phone ring. 

“Hello?” he said on the third ring. 

It turned out to be Karen, his cop sister. 

“Hi, Jay.” 

“Hi, Karen. Why are you calling? Is Mom okay?” he asked. 

“Mom’s fine. She’s upset because you’re not going to be home for your birthday and she won’t be able to cook for you,” Karen said. 

“She was like that when I was headed for Detroit,” Jay said. 

“Are you having a good time with Bill?” Karen asked. 

“Yeah. Great time. I am hanging out in the guest room today. I feel like being by myself at least once,” Jay said. 

“You did that a lot when you were young, didn’t you? That is what Mom kept telling me. She said you were really quiet and shy,” Karen said. 

“I know I was. Until high school. Then I met Bill. You know the rest of the story,” he said. 

“Why are you hanging out by yourself? You should be with Bill. That’s why you flew out there for a month,” Karen told him. 

“I have a lot on my mind right now, Sis. I’m thinking about my career,” Jay said. 

“Is that what you are doing?” she asked. 

“Yes. I am thinking about changing my career. I’m tired of the stage,” he said.

“You mean to tell me you’re tired of singing Elvis?” she asked. 

“Yes. I know the audience would be ashamed to see me go and leave them behind, but I want to become a priest,” Jay said. 

“That’s great, Jay. We’ll be on your side no matter what you do,” Karen said.

“Jay, Mom won’t stop giving me the sign of the cross. She has been doing that since I married Ralph. I am tired of seeing it. What do I do about that?” Karen asked. 

“Nothing. I guess we will have to live with it. I have known Mom and Dad do not like Ralph. I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t mind him,” Jay said.

“Yeah, because you’re the only one who’s given him a chance. He likes you too,” Karen said. 

“I’ve been praying to God about this whole thing all morning long until you called. He tells me to go for it,” Jay said. 

“What! I cannot believe what I am hearing here, Jay. The Lord telling you to go for being a minister,” Karen said, shocked a little by the news. 

“That’s what I’m hearing from Him.” 

“I’d say go for it, Jay. Go do what you want to do. You know Mom and I will be right behind you. Ralph will, too. We’ll be cheering for you,” Karen said. 

“I think I’ll do it. You’ll have to call me Father from now on once it happens,” Jay said.

Karen gave a laugh and he put his cell phone away.


	49. Chapter 49

He looked at the beautiful wrapped gifts he had taken with him on the trip from home. He did wonder what was inside. Jay heard Bill come back to the house a few hours later. 

Jay hooked into the guest room the whole time Bill was gone. He saw that his friend had been shopping because his hands were full of shopping bags. 

“Hi, Bill,” Jay said. 

“Hi, Jay. Did you enjoy the time to yourself?” Bill asked. 

“Yes,” he said. 

Bill headed to the master bedroom, put the shopping bags in there, and came back empty handed. 

“Bill, do you have a Catholic church I can go while I’m out here visiting you?” Jay asked. 

“Yeah, we have one. I haven’t forgotten you’re Irish,” Bill said. 

“Where is the church?” Jay asked. 

“I’ll show you within the next day or so,” Bill said. 

“Okay.” 

Bill heard the school bus pull up in front of the house and saw Ken, Diane and June get off. 

“The kids are home,” Bill said. 

“I didn’t know they take the bus,” Jay said. 

“We live far away from the elementary school, so that’s why they take the school bus to and from here,” Bill said.

“I see.” 

The kids ran into the house. 

“Don’t run into the house, kids,” Bill said as the kids put their backpacks on the floor.

“How was school?” Bill asked as he followed the children into the kitchen. 

“Fine, Dad,” they said. 

Bill gave them a healthy snack. 

“We want chocolate, Daddy,” June said. 

“No sugar for an after – school snack. You know how your mother gets with this,” Bill told them. 

“Dad, there is a note for you and Mom from the principal,” Ken said. 

“Are you in trouble, Ken?” Bill asked. 

“The note’s in my backpack,” Ken said. 

Bill headed for Ken’s backpack that he left on the floor with the girls’ backpacks. Bill opened the backpack and found the note. He began to read it.

“Ken, come here!” he yelled. 

Jay was there the whole time Bill read the note from the school principal. 

“What happened, Bill?” Jay asked. 

“He got suspended for a couple months by beating up the school bully,” Bill said. 

Jay did the sign of the cross. Ken was in the living room when Jay performed the sign of the cross. 

“What did Mr. McCarey just do, Dad?” Ken asked, seeing the sign of the cross. 

“It’s a Catholic thing, Ken. He just gave you the sign of the cross,” Bill told Ken. 

“Ken, we didn’t raise you and your sisters to get suspended in school. We raised children to graduate and have a good education and go to college and have a college degree and not get in suspension,” Bill told his son. 

“Your mother wouldn’t like this when she sees this note from the school principal,” Bill said. 

Bill sent Ken to his room once he was finished with his snack. Ken finished eating within the next minute and headed up to his bedroom as Bill ordered.

“You stay in that bedroom until dinner,” Bill told Ken as he headed up the stairs. 

“That is not fair, Dad,” he complained. 

Bill saw Jay perform the sign of the cross a second time. Tina came home from work at five that evening and found Bill and Jay watching the five o’clock news. 

“Hi, Bill, honey, Jay,” Tina said and gave Bill a kiss. 

“Hi, sweetheart,” Bill said and kissed her right back.

“Hi, Tina,” Jay said. 

“Are we ready to eat dinner?” Tina asked. 

“Yes, dear. When we’re done eating, I’d like to talk to you about Ken,” Bill said in his angry voice. 

Tina could tell how angry Bill was. 

“What happened? Is he in trouble or is he sick?” Tina asked. 

“You’ll find out,” Bill said angrily. 

“Okay. I’ll go make dinner,” Tina said. 

Jay got up from the couch he was sharing with Bill and headed to the kitchen. He thought Tina would need help, so he got into the kitchen. 

“Do you need help, Tina?” Jay asked. 

“No, I’m fine, Jay. What would you like to eat? You can have the same thing the kids are having. They eat what I usually eat because of Bill’s allergy,” Tina said. 

“Right. I do not care what I eat because I will eat anything. I’m not picky,” Jay said. 

“Tina, Bill says you have a Catholic church out here. He’s going to show me where it is within the next day or so,” Jay said. 

“I had no idea you are Catholic,” Tina told him while turning the stove on. 

“I am. Bill will tell you I am Irish.” 

“When I first met you and your mother, I thought you were Christian or Mormon,” Tina said. 

“No. We are Catholic. Both of my parents born and raised Catholic their whole lives. My dad’s family go way back in Ireland,” Jay said, remembering his family tree.

“Interesting.” 

“Would you excuse me for a while? There’s something I need to do,” Jay said and left the kitchen.

He asked Tina if he could take a glass with him. 

“Sure,” Tina said and handed him a glass. 

He left the kitchen with the glass and headed for the guest room upstairs. 

He knew it was time to take his medicine, so he took his medicine out of the suitcase and headed out for the bathroom to fill the whole glass with water. He swallowed all the medicines he had to take before dinner and drank the entire glass of water. He put the medicine bottles back in his suitcase. The thing he did not know was that Diane and June were outside of his bedroom watching him take his medicine. Tina called everyone to dinner that night because she had been cooking Mexican the entire day.


	50. Chapter 50

Back in Las Vegas, Mrs. McCarey asked about Jay. 

“He’s fine, Mom. He and I talked the whole time. He told me he is tired of being an Elvis impersonator. He says he wants something different,” Karen said. 

“Like what, Karen? Why not insurance like your father?"Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Isn’t he a little old for that? He told me he wants to be a priest,” Karen said. 

“A priest! He is a little old for that, Karen. He should have started that when he graduated from high school,” Mrs. McCarey told her daughter. 

“Mom, look at the Pope. He is at an old age and he is a priest. Jay’s seen that and he wants to take a shot at being a priest himself, even at forty – four,” Karen told Mrs. McCarey.


	51. Chapter 51

“Have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday, Jay?” Tina asked him.

“No. I do not care what, Tina. I don’t care about my birthday anymore,” he said. 

“Go tell Bill and the children dinner’s ready,” Tina told Jay. 

“Okay.” 

He left the kitchen and told Bill and the kids’ dinner was ready. Ken was the only one he saw present in the living room. He saw no sign of Diane and June. 

“I don’t see your daughters, Tina. I don’t know where they are,” Jay said.

“Go tell Bill to find them then,” Tina said.

“Okay.” 

Jay left the kitchen a second time. 

“Bill, Tina wants you to tell Diane and June to come to the dinner table,” Jay said. 

“Okay. I’ll go look for them,” Bill said. 

Jay found Ken washing his hands at the kitchen sink. 

“Why is your father angry, Ken?” Tina asked their son. 

“Let him tell you why, Mom. I’m not talking,” he said as he and Jay both sat down at the kitchen table. 

“What are you girls doing in Jay’s bedroom?” Bill asked when he walked into the open bedroom and found the girls in the guest room.

“Daddy, we saw Mr. McCarey doing something in this room a few minutes earlier and he had a glass of water in his hand,” Diane told Bill. 

“What are in your hands, girls? Give it to me now,” Bill said, grabbing the medicine bottles from the girls. 

“Girls, it’s dinner time. Go join the rest of us at the table now. We’ll talk about this later,” Bill said. 

“Tell your mother I’ll be there in a minute or two,” Bill said and watched his daughters leave the guest room. 

He picked up the other two medicine bottles that the girls had with them. He remembered Jay had said something about having low blood pressure. He opened the three bottles that Jay had brought and went through the three to see if Diane and June had touched anything.

“Bill!” he heard Tina call from the bottom of the stairs. 

“Coming!” he called from Jay’s bedroom. 

He was going to worry about the medicines after dinner. He was going to tell Jay about it then. 

“What were you doing up there, Bill?” Tina asked. 

“I don’t want to say it in front of the kids,” Bill said. 

“Okay. We’ll talk about it after dinner,” she said. 

“That includes you too,” Bill told Jay. 

“Why me?” Jay asked.

“You’ll find out,” Bill told his friend. 

Dinner was over in no time. Tina cleared the table, washed the dishes, and put them in the dishwasher. 

“Now we can talk,” Bill said once the kids had left the kitchen and went into the living room and turned the TV on for some cartoons. 

“What is it, Bill?” Tina asked. 

“I found the girls in the guest room Jay is staying in when we were going to sit down for dinner. You know what they were doing?” Bill asked. 

“What?” Tina asked him. 

“They got hold of Jay’s medicines,” Bill said. 

“Is this why you wanted me to hear this?” Jay asked. 

“Yes, Jay,” Bill said. 

“Did June and Diane take any of Jay’s medicines?” Tina asked.

“I don’t know. I put them in the bathroom for right now. I was going to do that when you called me,” Bill said. 

“Why don’t we go through that right now and find out for ourselves?” Tina asked him.

“Good idea. My doctor is not going to like this if he ever hears about this. He was telling me that medicine has gone up the market these past four months,” Jay said. 

“That’s really expensive,” Tina said. 

“It is. The first time I ordered these medicines, my mother flushed every one of them down the toilet. She did not want me taking this stuff. She also didn’t want me having a health problem to worry about every day of my life until I die,” Jay said. 

“She should understand that you do have a health problem to worry about now like I do,” Bill said.

“I know.” 

The three of them headed to the bathroom upstairs where Bill left Jay’s medicine bottles. They each took the three bottles that Jay had brought with him and they went through the bottles. All three bottles were empty. 

“Just great! Now I can’t take anything!” Jay said, getting angry. 

Tina and Bill started getting angry themselves also. 

“June! Diane!” Tina yelled. 

“Jay, we’ll get this all taken care of, and we’ll call the pharmacy and we’ll see what we can do about this problem,” Tina told Jay, who was still angry about his medicine being gone. 

“But, Tina, I’m on a month’s vacation! How am I going to get refills if I’m on vacation, for crying out loud?” he asked, still angry. 

There was no response from Diane and June because they were already dead and lying on the floor in the playroom. 

Tina had Bill stay with Jay to see if he could calm him down because Jay was his best friend and they knew each other well and she didn’t know Jay well to calm him down. She went to take care of June and Diane while Bill did Jay. Tina stayed with the girls for a while and Bill had Jay quieted down before Tina announced Diane and June dead. Bill sure did not like the news at all about the girls being dead at a young age. 

“He’s calmed down, Tina. Do you want me to help you?” Bill asked. 

“No, I’ve got it. Why don’t you see if you and Jay can get refills on his medicine?” she suggested. 

“Okay.” 

Bill came back to the living room where he left Jay standing. 

“Jay, Tina thinks we should refill your medicines by phone,” Bill said. 

“Whatever! Why did your children have any business doing such a thing to me, Bill? That makes me mad! My doctor told me the market has gone uphill on the medicines,” Jay told him. 

“We believe you on that, Jay,” he said. 

“I can make the phone call for you if you’re still red on your top,” Bill told his best friend. 

“Thanks, Bill, but I can still do that myself, even if I’m angry at those children of yours.”

“It’ll save you a penny to do the call. Let me do it. What pharmacy do you use?” Bill asked, picking up the phone. 

Jay gave Bill the name of the pharmacy and watched him punch the numbers on the phone. Bill hung up the phone and told Jay the medicines would be ready eventually.

“Thanks, Bill. You’re the best friend anyone would want to have,” Jay told him and started to cheer up a bit. 

“No problem, Jay. We’d be happy to do it for you,” he said, giving Jay a pat on the back.


	52. Chapter 52

“Mom, I’m going out for my daily run now. I will be out for a couple hours. That is how long my run is. If you need anything, I will put the telephone right here by your pillow if you need to call Dr. James. His home phone number is right here,” Jay said, writing it down for his mother. 

“What about the office number?” she asked. 

“He doesn’t work this late, Mom. He should be home now. I’ll take my cell phone with me in case you need to get in touch,” he said, showing her that he was putting it in his pocket. 

Right.” 

He gave her a kiss on the forehead and was out the door. He saw his neighbor, Logan Woods, in the garden next door when he was going to start his daily run.

“Hi, Logan,” Jay said. 

“Hi, Jay. Was that the mystery writer Bill Thompson that I saw drive away from your house not long ago?” Logan asked.

“Sure was. We knew each other in high school,” Jay said. 

“Wow. I’d like to get his autograph next time you two talk,” Logan said. 

“You mean to tell me you read his murder books?” Jay asked, heading over to the garden.

“Sure do. They’re entertaining, wisecracking, and make you think,” Logan said. 

“I don’t have time to read a book or newspaper. You know impersonating does that to you,” Jay said. 

“Bet it does. Heard about Mr. Griswold and you in court,” Logan said. 

“That. I won that case,” Jay said. 

“Glad to hear that. Mr. Griswold is well – known out here in Vegas,” Logan said.

“I know he is, but he can make you so mad like that,” Jay said. 

“I bet.” 

“Would you mind doing me a favor, Logan? My mother is at my house and is not feeling too great. She is in her early nineties and declined my phone call to my doctor about seeing him. She had a headache all day and now it turned into a fever. She even barfed up stuff that made her sick just now and didn’t want me to call my doctor,” Jay said.

“You meant to ask me to look after your mother in case you weren’t around?” Logan asked. 

“I’m going to be on my two – hour run, like I do every day. I gave her the emergency phone numbers,” Jay said. 

"Right. I’ll be there if she needs me. Did you give her my number?” 

“No, Logan, I didn’t. I told her I’d be on my cell if she needed me,” Jay said. 

“Where is your mother?” 

“On the couch in the living room. She looked like she couldn’t go back to her bedroom upstairs.” 

“That’s too bad, Jay. Could be the flu bug or a virus or something,” Logan said. 

“Could be it, but I told her to call me if she needed me,” he said. 

The men said good – bye as Jay dashed into a jog. He stayed into that same jog for the whole hour. He heard his cell phone ring. 

“Jay, come home,” his mother’s voice on the other end said. 

“Okay, Mom. I will be there in another hour. I will call my neighbor, Logan and have him watch you until I get there. Do I need to call Dr. James?” Jay asked. 

Her answer sounded too pained to answer him. 

“I’ll go call him now,” he said and hung up. 

He had stopped jogging to talk to his mother. He made the call to Dr. James, who was at home. 

“Hello, Mr. McCarey,” he heard his doctor’s voice on the other end of the line. 

“Dr. James, would you mind making a house call for me at my house? I know you docs stopped doing that back in the old days, but would you mind doing it for me? It’s for my mother,” Jay said. 

“What is your mother’s name? She’s not a patient of mine, is she?” Dr. James asked.

“No, she isn’t. She and my father moved in not long ago,” Jay told his doctor. 

Right I will be on my way. I know your address, Mr. McCarey, but first I’d like to know your mother’s name,” he said.

“Shirley McCarey.” 

“Okay. Got it. What is wrong with her?” 

“She said she had a headache for all day today, but earlier tonight it got worse and turned into a fever of some kind. She could not go back to her bedroom and lie down on her bed again, so she is on the couch now. She even threw up in a bucket. Do you want us to save that stuff what’s in the bucket or not?” Jay asked his doctor. 

“That’s not important. I’ll be right over,” Dr. James said and they got off the phone.

Logan asked by Jay on the cell phone to look after Mrs. McCarey until he came home. Logan let himself in. Mrs. McCarey got scared when she saw Logan let himself in the house because she thought he was a burglar. She screamed and did not get up from the couch.

“Police! Police! Burglar!” Mrs. McCarey screamed at the top of her lungs. 

“It’s all right, Mrs. McCarey. I live next door to you and Jay. I am your neighbor. Call me Logan,” he said, walking over to her couch. 

She stopped screaming for the police when he introduced himself. 

“Don’t you dare scare an old woman like that again! I could’ve had a heart attack like that!” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You looked like you saw a ghost when you first saw me, Mrs. McCarey,” Logan said.

“You bet I did!” she screamed. 

“Jay asked me to look after you in case you had any problems when he was gone,” Logan said. 

“Would you be a kind man and give me that bucket on the floor? I need to throw up again,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Jay mentioned you weren’t feeling well,” Logan said. 

Jay came into the house at the same time the doctor drove up in the driveway. Jay was happy to see the doctor. 

Both Dr. James and Jay found Logan holding the bucket in front of Mrs. McCarey.

“Mom, are you all right?” Jay asked. 

“She’s been in the bucket for twenty minutes, Jay,” Logan said, seeing the clock on the wall. 

“Mom, do you want me to call Karen and have her help me care for you?” he asked his mother.

She did not answer Jay because her head was still in the bucket. Jay told Logan he could leave now and he would take over the bucket. Logan handed the bucket to Jay and he said good – bye to Jay and left the house. He did not bother saying anything about Mrs. McCarey’s calling for the police when he walked in to Jay quite yet because Jay was dealing with the doctor. 

Jay asked Dr. James what the problem was when they finished looking at Mrs. McCarey’s spit up in the bucket. Dr. James thought it was a stomach virus. 

“It’ll go away fast, Mom. Do you want me to call Karen and she can help me with you?” Jay asked. 

She did not answer him, but was busy with the bucket he was holding. He thanked Dr. James and Dr. James was out the door within five minutes. Jay found his house phone right where his mother was on the couch, so he picked up the phone and dialed Karen’s number in Milwaukee. He could not leave the bucket because Mrs. McCarey was still using it. 

“Let me get another bucket, Mom. This one’s full,” he said, heading for the garage. 

He came back with a new bucket this time.


	53. Chapter 53

He heard his sister’s phone ring. Ralph was at the house, so he answered. 

“Hi, Ralph. Is Karen there?” Jay asked when he heard Ralph’s voice. 

“She’s still working,” Ralph told Jay. 

“When she gets my message, would you have her call me?” Jay asked. 

“Sure. I’ll tell her you called, Jay,” Ralph said. 

“Tell her it’s an urgent call. It’s about Mom.” 

They got off the phone.

Chapter 64 

Ralph saw Karen drive up the driveway two hours later. 

“Hi, Karen,” he greeted his wife with a kiss on the cheek. 

“Any phone calls? I’m expecting a call from Dispatch.” 

“Not Dispatch, Karen. Only Jay.”


	54. Chapter 54

The phone rang at Jay’s house a second time that afternoon. He heard Bill’s voice on the other end. 

“Hi, Jay, old pal,” Bill said when Jay picked up the phone. 

“Hi, Bill. Good to hear from you,” he said. 

“Did you and your mom read my book?” he wanted to know. 

“Sure we did. It was a good one,” Jay said. 

“Did it surprise you that I wrote it with one of the popular mystery writers around that had a television show?” Bill asked. 

“Yeah. What made you do it?” Jay asked, wanting to know. 

“It was my editor’s idea that I do it with Jessica Fletcher, so we went ahead and did it. Tina wants you to come out to Detroit and visit us if you are not so busy being Elvis,” Bill said. 

“Let me check my schedule first and let me get back to you, Bill. How are things with you?” Jay wanted to know. 

“Not too great. You know that food allergy problem I told you about.” Bill asked. 

“Yeah. What about it?” Jay asked. 

“Not long ago when we came back to Detroit, we had a doctor’s appointment. The doc had to know about my hospital stay in Vegas, and he told Tina and me t it was not a stomach virus at all that I had. The doctor told us I now have asthma, Jay. He gave me hundreds of inhalers and medications for me,” Bill said. 

“That’s too bad, Bill. I will be sure to tell Mom about this. We had no idea you had a food allergy. You didn’t touch any of the macaroni and cheese or milk and stuff when we had dinner that night,” Jay said. 

“I know I didn’t.” 

They talked for a little bit longer before hanging up the phone. Jay told Bill one more time he would call again to let his friend know what his schedule looked like to visit him in Detroit. They said good – bye and got off the phone. 

“Who was that on the phone, Jay?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Bill, Mom. He was saying that the hospital visit he had when they were here in Vegas for dinner at our house that night had caused him asthma,” Jay said. 

“That’s too bad, Blue Jay. You mean to say that he went to the doctor when he went back home?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Yes, Mom. That is what he said. He said the doctor had to know about the hospital visit out here, so that is why they went. They want me to visit them in Detroit for a while, but I told him I’d call back once I find out my schedule,” Jay said. 

“You go ahead and visit Bill and Tina. I wouldn’t mind being alone unless I can go be with Karen and her no – good husband Ralph.” 

“Give him a chance, Mom. He is a good guy. He hasn’t done any harm to her,” Jay said.

“You know how much your father and I don’t like him, Blue Jay. He is no good for your sister. He is too old for her. Forty – five years old!” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Get over it, Mom.”


	55. Chapter 55

“Bill, honey, you know why I worry too much about you,” Tina said to Bill when he put the phone back in its spot when he got off the phone with Jay. 

“I know, Tina. You shouldn’t worry too much about that allergy,” he said. 

“I worry because you’ve had that allergy for twelve years now. I also worry because this kind of problem runs in families. I worry because the kids could get it,” Tina said. 

“Tina, honey, I’m not going to turn into that football coach who couldn’t work for a period of time. Give me a chance to care for myself,” Bill said, remembering what happened to Roger Presley during the football season. 

“I hope that doesn’t happen to you like it did to Coach Presley. You better be careful to yourself,” Tina said. 

“Bill, I was talking with Priscilla, who is working at the restaurant I work for. She asked about you. She wanted to know why you don’t eat any of our food and I told her about your allergy problem,” Tina said. 

“What did Priscilla say?” Bill wanted to know. 

“She felt bad and didn’t know you were allergic to dairy,” Tina said.

“I know your restaurant has a lot of dairy foods in it, so that’s why I’m not touching any of it,” Bill said. 

“Maybe one of these days the doctor will let you have less inhalers. You’ve got a lot of them at the moment,” Tina said to Bill. 

“I know twelve is a lot to handle, but I hope I can I can get rid of them sometime soon,” Bill said. 

The phone rang at the house the next day. Bill was home, but in bed, so he answered the phone. He was not feeling so hot because asthma was driving him crazy that day. 

“Hello?” he said. 

“Hi, Bill,” Jay said on the other end. 

“Hi, Jay. Did you find out your schedule?” Bill asked. 

“You bet I did. I can come out in a month. I can visit for a whole month if you’d like,” Jay said. 

“Great. Tina’s at the restaurant right now, but I’ll call her in a little bit when she’s on break and tell her. I’m in bed today because asthma’s driving me crazy,” Bill said. 

“Sorry to hear that. Hope you feel better soon, Bill. My mom is thinking of visiting my sister and her husband Ralph while I go see you. She doesn’t like Ralph at all,” Jay said, “but I tell Mom to give him one chance and he doesn’t give Karen harm.” 

“Well, see you when you get here, Jay. We will look forward to seeing you again. Do you want Tina to pick you up at the airport?” Bill asked. 

“Nah, I can get a rental or a cab.”

“Okay. You’ve got my address.” 

“Right.” 

They got off the phone when Jay said he was going to fly in the next day. When Jay hung up the phone, Bill dialed Tina at the restaurant and told her what Jay told him. 

“Okay. I will set up the guest room for Jay tonight when I come home, Bill. How are you feeling?” Tina asked. 

“Still the same,” he said. 

“If it’s still worse by lunchtime, call the doctor if necessary.” 

“I don’t think I’ll need a doctor, Tina. I’m planning on staying in bed for the day, anyway,” Bill said. 

They talked for a while longer, then Tina told him she had to go back to work. Then they blew each other a kiss on the phone and hung up. It was the weekend, so Ken was home. Bill got up from bed to take his medicine and check on Ken. He found Ken watching TV in the playroom. 

“Mr. McCarey is coming over to visit us for a month tomorrow. You better behave yourself when he comes over,” Bill said to Ken as he headed out of the playroom.


	56. Chapter 56

Jay decided to bring the guitar he played for the shows he did so Bill and family could hear him sing Elvis. 

“What are you doing with the guitar?” he heard Barry’s voice. 

“I’m going on vacation in Detroit for a month, Barry. My good friend from high school lives there. He is a mystery writer. Bet you have probably heard of him. Bill Thompson,” Jay said. 

“Yes, I’ve heard of him. Didn’t he just recently write a new book? I heard on the TV news that he caught asthma,” Barry Manilow said. 

“That’s right, Barry. One and only. He caught it because he had a food allergy,” Jay said.

“That’s too bad,” Barry said. 

“I know it is. I never knew he had that kind of problem when he and family came over to my house in Henderson for dinner one night when my mom made my dad’s favorite meal that night. Dad is not alive anymore. He died recently,” Jay said, still sad a little. 

“Hope you have fun in Detroit,” Barry said. 

“I will.” 

Jay had a flight for nine o’clock that night or so, but he already had his things packed for the flight. He was planning to call Bill once he made it to the airport to let him know he made it safely. He felt bad that Bill had a health problem. Bill had stayed in bed for one full day that day when he talked to Jay the other day.


	57. Chapter 57

“I hope Mom’s feeling better,” Karen said as she put her briefcase in their office. 

“He said to call him. It’s urgent,” Ralph said. 

“Urgent, you said? I wonder what kind of urgent call,” she said, getting interested in Jay’s phone call. 

“Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes, so you have some time to call him now,” Ralph said. 

“Okay. I will call him now. What are we having?” Karen asked. 

“The boys are at a friend’s house for the weekend. I told them it was okay to spend the weekend with their friends. I thought I’d make a nice romantic dinner for two,” Ralph said, telling her what their dinner was.

“Sounds romantic, Ralph. You’re starting to sound a little like Dad,” Karen said, getting a little teary – eyed. 

She went into their office and made the call private. Jay answered the phone on the first ring.

“Hi, Sis,” he said. 

“Ralph told me you called and said it was urgent,” Karen said. 

“It is in a way. Mom.”

“How is she feeling?” Karen asked.

“Still throwing up. This is her second bucket,” Jay told his sister. 

“That’s too bad. Did a doctor check her out?” Karen asked. 

“Yes, my doctor checked her out and thought it was a stomach virus.” 

“Too bad. Should I come out to Vegas and help you take care of her? You need to sleep too, Jay,” Karen said. 

“I know, Karen. I would appreciate it if I got help.” 

“I’ll be out firs thing tomorrow. The boys are spending a weekend with some friends.”

Right I bet Mom would appreciate it if you flew out alone without Ralph and the children for once.” 

"Right. I was planning on that. Maybe we’ll find out what is making Mom sick.”

Ralph watched his wife hang up the phone. 

“What did your brother call for that was so urgent?” Ralph asked his wife as they sat down to eat their romantic dinner. 

“Ralph, Jay was saying that Mom is really sick and is on her second bucket on throwing up. He is saying that his doctor thought it a stomach virus that is making her throw up. I want to go fly to Vegas after we are done and help him. He thinks you can handle the kids on your own while I’m out there,” Karen said. 

“I can do that. You can stay out there as long as he needs you,” Ralph said.

“Thanks, Ralph. You are so sweet. Mom’s never been sick like that, I don’t think,” Karen said. 

“I’ll call a cab to take you to the airport when we’re done eating. You can pack while I call for a cab,” Ralph said. 

“What about the boys?” Karen asked. 

“They’ll be fine at their friends’ houses this weekend. I will take care of everything while you are in Las Vegas, sweetheart. I’ll take all the phone calls for you,” he said.


	58. Chapter 58

Jay asked his neighbor, Logan, to pick up his sister, Karen at the airport because he had to worry about his mother.

“Sure, Jay. I would be happy to pick up your sister. What is her name and what does she look like?” Logan asked. 

Jay gave the information to his next – door neighbor. 

“Thanks. Do you know when she’s coming?” Logan asked. 

“Maybe tomorrow, I don’t know.” 

Jay heard the phone ring again. It was Ralph, calling to let him know Karen’s plane was coming sometime that night. 

“Thanks, Ralph. I need all the help I can get with Mom.” 

“How is she doing now?” Ralph asked. 

“Fourth bucket nonstop. I need to go to bed pretty soon,” Jay told Ralph, seeing it was almost ten o’clock. 

“Does she need a hospital if she’s still doing this?” Ralph asked. 

“Too sick to be in a car, Ralph,” Mrs. McCarey heard Jay say on the phone. 

She knew that her son was talking to Karen’s husband on the telephone. She heard Jay hang up the phone. 

“Mom, Karen’s coming right away, but her plane won’t be in until dawn,” Jay told his mother.


	59. Chapter 59

Back at the Malph residence in Milwaukee, Ralph went back to their bedroom, which was the master bedroom. 

“Karen, your brother told me that your mother hasn’t stopped throwing up quite yet. She’s on her fourth bucket right now, and your brother says he wants to go to bed,” Ralph said. 

“I bet he does. I do not blame him. What have you told him?” Karen asked her husband. 

“I suggested the hospital to him, but he decided against it because your mother’s too sick to ride in the car,” Ralph said. 

“True, Ralph.”


	60. Chapter 60

“Mom, can I go to bed for the night? I am getting tired. When I get up, Karen will be here at the house with Mr. Woods,” Jay said. 

“All right, Blue Jay. I’ll end up throwing up on the floor,” she said. 

He left the bucket in front of Mrs. McCarey so it would not end up on the carpet.

“I’ll get a couple more buckets, Mom, in case this one gets full,” he said, walking into the garage to get the last of the buckets. 

“These are the last of the buckets, Mom, so I don’t have anymore,” Jay told Mrs. McCarey. 

He told her good – night, but left the light on in the living room and turned the other lights off on his way to the bathroom upstairs that was his. 

Ten minutes later, he heard his mother call him after sleeping soundly. He put his robe and slippers on, got up, turned the light on, and walked into the living room. 

“What is it, Mom? I’m trying to sleep,” Jay said, looking tired. 

She told him she needed him to hold the bucket because it did not stay in its spot as it did when he held it for her. 

“Okay, Mom, but I need my sleep,” he said. 

“You can have your sleep when your sister gets here,” she said, who was sounding sicker than she did four hours ago. 

“You sure don’t sound very good, Mom. Let me take your temperature before you throw up in that bucket again,” Jay told his mother.

He went to search for the thermometer. He went to the medicine cabinet and was back within five minutes. He stuck it in his mother’s mouth and waited for a while. He took it out of his mother’s mouth and her temperature was high. 

“Mom, your temperature is really high. I’m thinking of talking to the doc again,” Jay said. 

He left the thermometer on the coffee table and kept it there in case they needed it a second time. 

“What did my temperature read, Blue Jay?” she asked sickly. 

“Nearing one hundred ten. That is hot,” he said. 

“I cannot help it if I am that sick,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I know, Mom. I’ll have to tell Karen.”


	61. Chapter 61

The clock chimed five o’clock. Karen finally called the house. Jay told her she could call for a cab since he could not escape the house to pick her up. She asked how their mother was feeling. 

“Not so great, Karen. We will have to talk to my doctor again. I just took her temperature again just now and it’s really high,” Jay said. 

“Give me details once I get there,” Karen said as they got off the phone.

Karen already had her bags and was looking for a nearby cab to take to Jay’s house. She found one that was almost full and gave the cab driver Jay’s address. She sat with a family of four from Arizona and her stop was first because they were on their way to one of the hotels. Karen chatted with the family on the way to Jay’s house. They introduced themselves as the Leaphorn family from Grand Canyon, Arizona. She introduced herself.

“Have you ever been to Las Vegas?” Karen asked after everyone had introduced himself or herself. 

“This is our first time,” Carolyn told Karen. 

She was the wife of the Leaphorn family. 

“Oh. I am on my way to my brother’s house. He lives out here and is an Elvis Presley impersonator. Our mother lives with him now and is very ill now. We’re trying to figure out what is making her sick,” Karen told the family. 

“We can help you with that. Amos is a medicine man out in Grand Canyon. Maybe we can help you with your mother,” Carolyn said. 

“Thank you, but my brother’s doctor would be better at that,” Karen said. 

“Give Amos a chance, Mrs. Malph,” Carolyn said. 

Right My brother would appreciate it,” Karen said as they hopped out of the cab and paid the driver. 

The two girls followed their parents and Karen and she rang the doorbell. She had her bags in her hands as well. Jay heard the doorbell, so he put the bucket down and Karen could tell he did not get his sleep the other night. 

“Thank you for coming, Sis,” Jay said. 

“No problem, Jay. How is Mom?” she asked. 

“Still the same, Karen. What are these people doing at my house?” he asked, seeing the Leaphorns. 

“I met them in the cab on the way here. They are saying Mr. Leaphorn is a medicine man and could probably figure out what is wrong with Mom. Give him a chance. Please, Jay,” Karen begged her brother. 

“Okay. One chance only,” he said, letting them in the house. 

Karen introduced Jay to the Leaphorn family. Jay gave Karen the details on their mother’s temperature. 

“That’s too high, Jay. Did you call your doctor yet?” she asked. 

“Not yet. Today is his day off. The weekend,” Jay said. 

“That’s right. I forgot,” Karen said. 

“Jay, go to bed. You look like you’re going to fall asleep any minute now,” Karen told him. 

“Thanks. I need my sleep. I was asleep for ten minutes last night when Mom called me again,” Jay told his sister. 

“Take all the sleep you need. I will take over the shift. How many buckets do you have?” Karen asked. 

“Not much, maybe fifteen. She’s on the last one, so I’ll use the pans next,” Jay told his sister sleepily. 

“I’ll help myself to a room here. You do not need to get any room ready for me, Jay. Just go to bed and get all the sleep you need,” Karen told him as she watched him head up the stairs to his bedroom. 

He fell on the floor instead of his bed and fell asleep when he walked into his room because he was too tired. Karen and the Leaphorns heard him fall on the floor upstairs.

“Don’t worry about Jay, Mom. He did not faint, he is tired because he had to care for you,” Karen said. 

“It was low blood pressure, Karen. You don’t understand,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Did you try sleeping yourself, Mom?” Karen asked. 

“No. I’ve been busy with those buckets to try to sleep.” 

Karen introduced the Leaphorns to her mother. 

“I met them in the cab on the way here, Mom. Mr. Leaphorn is a medicine man in Grand Canyon where they are from. He’s here to check you out,” Karen told her mother. 

Karen was busy with their mother. The clock on the wall in the living room had chimed eight o’clock in the morning. Jay had been asleep for a couple hours that morning. He did not bother getting up from the bed. Karen tried getting her mother something to eat, but it did not work out. 

“Mom, when was the last time you had something to eat?” Karen asked. 

“I don’t remember. If you’re trying to get me something, it won’t work,” Mrs. McCarey told her daughter. 

“Mom, Jay and I are trying to figure out what’s wrong with you. Do we need to call for an ambulance or not? You’ve been throwing up nonstop since he was holding those buckets for you,” Karen said. 

“No ambulance, Karen, sweetheart. I do not have any appetite anymore. I cannot even lift a finger to pick up a fork or spoon to eat anything. I’ll tell you what’s wrong so you and Blue Jay won’t waste your time figuring it out,” Mrs. McCarey said to her daughter.

“What happened? Why are you so sick that I had to come here from a busy case and leave Ralph and the boys home?” Karen asked. 

Karen saw tears pour down her mother’s cheeks. 

“I can’t live without your father, Karen. He meant so much to me. Ever since we first married seventy – one years ago, he would buy me everything I wanted until now. What a generous man your father was,” she said, now starting to hiccup. 

“Mom, Jay and I miss Dad as much as you do. He was the best father we ever had. We did notice he never left you alone,” Karen said. 

“That was our vow at our wedding on February seventeenth, not to leave each other alone,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

Jay woke again at eleven – thirty that morning because he thought he heard his mother’s tears downstairs. He was wondering if Karen had figured out what was wrong with their mother. 

“Karen, did you ever figure out what was wrong with Mom?” he asked after saying hello to the two of them. 

He found Karen speaking in gentle words to his mother and holding their mother’s hands sitting on the couch. He heard their mother crying. 

“Mom, would you mind if we leave you alone for a minute or so?” Karen asked. 

Mrs. McCarey was crying too hard to answer her daughter. Karen followed her brother into the kitchen. They closed the door behind themselves. 

“Jay, it turns out that Mom has a broken heart.” 

“A broken heart? What happened?” he asked. 

“It was Dad that broke her heart,” Karen explained. 

“It’s hard to be on your own like this after seventy years of marriage, Karen. They never left each other. I remember when I was twelve years old, Dad had to go on a business trip, and you know what he did?” Jay asked. 

“What?” Karen asked. 

“He didn’t leave Mom home alone. She was pregnant with you at the time and he took you along on the business trip. It had something to do with insurance, I recall. I had to go to school, so I stayed behind with Bill and his family and went to school with Bill,” Jay said. 

“Oh. So that’s why they’re never apart.” 

“Right on.” 

Jay was making coffee. 

“When was the last time Mom had something to eat, Jay? I tried getting her something to eat a while ago, but she said it was hopeless. She said she can’t eat anything anymore,” Karen said.

“Not since the day I called you and she started throwing up. That was the last time she had something to eat,” Jay said. 

“You mean yesterday. Jay, while you are waiting for coffee, would you go keep Mom company and talk to her? I want to talk to Ralph and tell him how Mom’s doing,” she said. 

“Sure.” 

He left and joined their mother in the living room. 

“Karen told me it’s a broken heart, Mom. Just remember the happy times you had with Dad,” he said. 

“I can’t, Jay! It is too hard to talk about those happy times! I want your father back now!” Mrs. McCarey said, screaming at Jay at the top of her lungs, hiccupping. 

Karen heard the whole thing. 

“Jay, it would be best if you leave the house. I think Mom needs a woman on this,” Karen said. 

“Good idea, Sis. I’ll be having my cell phone if you need me,” he said. 

Karen watched him leave the house with a cup of coffee in his hand and the cell phone in his pocket. 

“He’s gone, Mom. You can stop the yelling,” Karen said. 

The yelling did calm down a little, but it was still no use.


	62. Chapter 62

Karen called Ralph at the house. 

“Ralph, did Dispatch call yet?” Karen asked after talking for a while. 

“They sure did, but I told them you were on emergency leave,” he said. 

“It’s still an emergency, Ralph. The emergency is that Mom has a broken heart because of my father’s death. They never left each other for seventy years,” Karen told him.

“That’s an amazing marriage, Karen. The boys are coming home within an hour or two because school starts again tomorrow morning,” Ralph said. 

“And you do too, don’t forget,” she reminded him. 

“I know that. Have not forgotten. My class for fourth period is taking a test,” Ralph said.

“You’re prepared for that, aren’t you?” Karen asked. 

“Sure am.”


	63. Chapter 63

Jay saw that Barry was rehearsing for a concert that night in the showroom at the Hilton, so he stopped by and watched him rehearse. He took a seat and watched Barry rehearse “Copacabana (At the Copa”). When finished with the song, Jay clapped. Barry saw his friend in the front row clapping. 

“I didn’t know you were here,” Barry said, getting off the stage and joining Jay. 

“There’s a problem going on at my house, Barry. I was told from my sister to leave the house, so I’m in town for right now,” Jay said.

“What kind of problem?” Barry wanted to know.

They headed for the dressing room. 

Jay told Barry the whole story while Barry dressed. 

“I had no idea your parents were married that long,” Barry said when Jay finished with the story. 

“Before I came over, my mother was in tears and started yelling at me with hiccups. I gave her my best advice,” Jay said. 

“So that’s when your sister told you to leave the house?” Barry asked. 

“Yeah. Karen told me that our mother might need a woman in on this, so she asked me kindly to leave the house for a while,” Jay said. 

“Did your parents ever leave each other?” Barry asked Jay.

“Not for one minute,” was Jay’s answer. 

“How close were your parents during those seventy years of their marriage?” Barry asked, combing his hair. 

“It was like unconditional love, Barry. It tells you how close they are. I remember when I was twelve years old and I had to stay in school. My dad had a business trip to go on. My mother was pregnant with Karen at the time and Dad saw that he couldn’t leave her behind because they had no clue what day Karen would come out, so what he did was take her along and left me behind so I wouldn’t miss a day of school and left me with my school friend, Bill Thompson. I really didn’t know Bill in middle school, but Dad somehow knew Bill’s parents and asked them if it was okay if I stayed with them while he and Mom went to Atlanta for a couple weeks,” Jay said. 

“I know the name Bill Thompson. Sounds familiar. TV star, right?” Barry asked. 

“No. Mystery writer,” Jay said. 

“Oh. I guess I’m thinking of a different Bill Thompson,” Barry said.

“Guess so.” 

They heard Jay’s cell phone ring just then. It was Paul calling. 

“Hi, Paul,” Jay said. 

“Where are you?” Paul asked. 

“I’m in Barry’s dressing room. We’re having a little conversation.” 

“Oh. I tried calling you at your house, but it sounded like a racket was going on. Your sister picked up and said you weren’t there, so she told me to try your cell,” Paul said.

“That was my mother you heard, Paul. It’s nothing but a broken heart.” 

“A broken heart? What happened?” Paul asked. 

“It’s Dad’s death that did it. They have been married seventy – one years until he died. They were that close, Paul. They’ve known each other since they were in high school,” Jay told Paul. 

“I was wondering if you and Barry could do a show together tonight. His manager and I thought it was a great idea.” 

“I’d love to, but my mother’s heart? What about that?” Jay asked. 

“Give it some thought, Jay, before the show tonight. If you do not show up, that is fine. Barry can do it without you and will understand that he can do it by himself,” Paul said.

Paul also asked if Barry knew. 

“I just told him the whole story,” Jay said. 

They got off and Jay put his cell phone back in his pocket.


	64. Chapter 64

The phone rang again and this time it was Karen. 

“Hi, Sis.” 

“Hi, Jay. Mom isn’t getting any better,” Karen said. 

“That’s a shame. I have a show to do tonight. It is with Barry Manilow. Both our managers thought it was a great idea that we both do a show together. Do you and Mom want to come and see it?” Jay asked. 

“I don’t think Mom would want to go to a show when her heart is broken, Jay.” 

“It might cheer her up a little, you know,” he told her. 

“It might do her good, but I don’t want her disturbing the audience with all those tears,” Karen said. 

“I think skipping the show might be a good idea, Karen, and help you try to get her out,” he said. 

“Your show is more important right now, Jay, if both managers want you and Barry both together,” Karen said. 

“The three of them know about Mom’s broken heart, but I told them I wasn’t sure if I would be there or not tonight because of Mom, but they said if I’m not there, Barry would do the show himself,” Jay said. 

“Is that an agreement?” Karen asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Okay.” 

They got off the phone after talking for a while longer.


	65. Chapter 65

The concert finally arrived. Jay decided to do it after all. Barry was up first, singing a few songs. He did a few songs after Barry sang “Copacabana (At the Copa”), “Mandy,” “The Old Songs,” “I Write The Songs,” and “Even Now.” He started singing “Too Much” when came out on the stage when Barry left the audience. The audience was surprised to see Jay that night. They thought it was a Barry Manilow concert alone. 

“You love me too much,” Jay sang to the audience. 

He had the audience tapping their feet, clapping their hands, and whistling to the song. Even Barry was going in the back himself. 

He was finished with the song and moved onto “Wise men say, only fools rush in. You know I can’t help falling in love with you,” he sang. 

When the last note of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” was over, he moved on to “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again.” When finished with that, he moved to “Blue Suede Shoes.”

“It’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat go! You can step on my blue suede shoes. You can do anything and step on my blue suede shoes. Go cat!” Jay sang. 

“Knock me down, steal my car,” was the next line of the song. 

The show was over within the next hour or so. The audience was loving him and Barry a whole lot. Jay went home bushed. 

“How did the show go tonight?” Karen asked her brother. 

“Fine. They loved the two of us together. I’m bushed,” he said with a tired voice. 

“You bet he did. That is what he does now is write mystery novels. Check them out if you wish,” Jay said, still tired. 

“Go to bed, Jay. You look like you’re going to fall down,” she said. 

“I am.” 

On his way upstairs, he asked where their mother was. 

“In bed.”

“Good.”

They said good – night to each other as he headed to his bedroom and she into the second room, which was another guest room. Karen took one of Bill’s books with her to see what they were really about, which was the first mystery novel he wrote years back.

She changed into a green pair of pajamas she brought along with her. She knew it was Ralph’s favorite pair, so she changed into it anyway, hopped into bed, and started reading the reviews he got on the book. There was one review from The Denver Post:

“Bill Thompson is one of the best mystery writers since James Patterson’s Alex Cross novels since the ‘90s. What great plots! Lynda [Conway] is a great beauty pageant judge you would want to get to know and love. Give us more, Bill!”

Karen found another review from Dolly Parton on the book:

“I love the Lynda Conway series. Great read! Fast – paced, quick – reading. Makes you stay up all night, along with Mary Higgins Clarks’s novels and James Pattersons’s Alex Cross novels in the pile. Keep up the great story lines, Bill! We love you!”

Karen read chapter one in Bill’s The Missing Models novel. She already into the mystery when she reached chapter two and ready to turn the light.


	66. Chapter 66

There was a knock on the door. It was their mother. 

“Mom, I’m about to sleep,” Karen said. 

“Karen, your father’s on my mind again. Who can sleep when you have a broken heart?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“I know it’s hard, Mom, but we need to live on our own sometime when someone dies like that. I need to go back to Milwaukee tomorrow morning right after breakfast. They need me back on the case,” Karen said. 

“I can’t talk about these things with Jay, sweetheart. I know he would understand it, but I have a feeling it’s woman to woman,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Give Jay a chance, Mom. Let him give you some advice I cannot give you. And don’t kick him out of his own house when you’re having this kind of problem like today,” Karen said. 

“I couldn’t help it, Karen. I just did not want him to overhear some of these things. That’s why he had to be out of the house.” 

“Mom, do you want to go to Milwaukee with me and stay with me and Ralph for a while so we can talk about this? I know you and Dad disapprove of Ralph, but it is the only way. Give it some thought tonight and let me know,” Karen said and followed her mother back to her mother’s bedroom. 

Mrs. McCarey was staying at Karen and Ralph’s house instead of a hotel room. 

“Mom, I think it’s a good idea you stay here at the house so you can get to know Ralph,” Karen told her mother.


	67. Chapter 67

“Karen, I was talking with my mother this morning. She thinks it is a good idea we have dinner tonight at their house with the kids. Hi, Shirley. I didn’t know you were coming with Karen,” Ralph said.

“What is this about dinner tonight, Ralph? Go on,” Karen said, still interested. 

“Mom said the whole family can come for Italian dinner tonight at six if we don’t have any plans,” Ralph told his wife. 

“I think it’s a great idea we go, Ralph. We will call your mother in a few minutes and tell her we are going. Mom, that includes you. I want you to meet Ralph’s parents. They’re a nice couple,” Karen told her mother. 

“I don’t have anything to do with Ralph’s parents, Karen. I wouldn’t mind having an evening to myself,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Mom, come on. You and Dad never came to my wedding with Ralph. You didn’t know about our marriage till now,” she reminded her mother. 

“That’s right. That is why I am saying I can stay here while you and the children and your husband can have an evening out while I stay here. I’m a little tired from the flight,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You’ll like my parents, Shirley. Please come,” Ralph said. 

“We’ll keep talking her into it until she says she’s going, Ralph. Keep working on it,” Karen told him. 

They kept begging Mrs. McCarey to come along for their family dinner that night until Mrs. McCarey gave in. 

“Ralph, go call your mother now,” Karen said. 

“Okay.” 

He went to the phone in the kitchen and dialed his parents. His mother, Minnie Malph, answered the phone on the third ring. 

“Hi, Ralph,” Mrs. Malph said. 

“Hi, Mom. We can come tonight. What time do you want us to come tonight?” Ralph asked. 

“Sixish would be fine,” Minnie said. 

“Great. We are bringing an extra family member along. Karen’s mother. You and Dad would like her. Her name is Shirley McCarey,” Ralph said. 

“We’ll be seeing you at dinner, Ralph. Why weren’t Karen’s parents at the wedding?” Mrs. Malph wanted to know. 

“She never told them about the wedding till now. I am guessing they disapprove of me, I do not know. I do not want to ask. You will not be meeting Mr. McCarey because he died not long ago. Broken back,” Ralph explained. 

“Sorry to hear that, Ralph. Does she have any siblings?” Mrs. Malph asked. 

“An older brother, but he lives in Vegas. An Elvis impersonator,” Ralph said.

“Interesting. See you at six. Remember, Italian,” Mrs. Malph said as they got off the phone.

“They’re expecting us for dinner at six, honey,” Ralph said to Karen as he came back to the living room. 

Mrs. McCarey was in the guest room, unpacking her things from her suitcase she brought. 

“Okay. I’ll tell Mom to wear something formal,” Karen said. 

“No need to do that, Karen. We will not stay very long. She said we’re having Italian tonight.” 

“Yum. I will look forward to that. Mom makes good Italian food also,” Karen said. 

“I bet she does,” Ralph said watching Karen walk up the stairs to the guest room. 

Karen knocked on the door and heard her mother ask who was at the door. 

“Me,” Karen said and let herself. 

“Mom, we’re expected at Ralph’s parents’ house at six for dinner. Italian is what he told me we are having tonight. Wear something formal,” Karen said. 

“What is their house like, Karen? You’ve been there, haven’t you?” Mrs. McCarey asked, wanting to picture the house in her mind. 

“I would have to guess the late eighteen hundreds,” Karen said. 

“That is old – fashioned,” Mrs. McCarey agreed. 

Karen and Mrs. McCarey chatted for a bit about the broken heart. Mrs. McCarey felt a bit better but not a whole lot. She knew how much she missed her husband and knew it was not the same without him anymore. 

“When somebody dies, Karen, life isn’t the same without that person. You just feel hopeless and do not feel like doing anything anymore,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“You should understand Dad’s in a safe place now, Mom.” 

Mrs. McCarey knew that was true. She did not say anything after what Karen said. 

“I think we should get ready and dress for the Malph’s dinner,” Karen said later that afternoon when their talk was over. 

Mrs. McCarey nodded in agreement. 

“Did Ralph say it was formal?” 

“No, Mom, he didn’t, but I still think it’s a good idea to dress,” Karen said. 

Ralph stood up to leave for his parents’ when he noticed that his mother – in – law and wife were not around to leave with him. 

“Where are they?” Ralph asked himself. 

That’s when he saw his wife come down, wearing a beautiful light – red mixed with stripped bright – yellow on her dress. Karen was wearing an emerald ring he had given her a couple years back. He liked what he had seen on his wife. 

“Why so dressy?” Ralph asked. 

He even smelled some perfume on her. 

“I thought I’d dress a bit for your parents,” Karen said. 

“You don’t have to. It’s nothing fancy.” 

“I just thought I would anyway to look nice,” Karen said, pushing her red hair out of her face. 

“I love the smell of your perfume,” he told her. 

“You mean Rainbow Shower?” 

“Is that what it’s called?” 

“Yes.” 

“I love it,” he said a second time. 

“Thanks. I like it too. It’s supposed to be popular,” Karen told him. 

That is when Mrs. McCarey came down to join them. Ralph saw that his mother – in – law was wearing a black and pearl dress with sequins added to it. She was also wearing a pair of white pearl earrings in her ears. 

“Mom, you look nice,” Karen said. 

“Thank you,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

The three of them and the boys walked out of the house and drove off after locking the house. It did not take long to get to Ralph’s parents’ place. It took about twenty to thirty minutes or so. Ralph knew today was one of his father’s workdays and he was already at the house. 

“This is my parents’ place, Shirley,” Ralph told Mrs. McCarey. 

Mrs. McCarey saw the house and could tell Karen was right about the house being in the 1800s. 

“It’s a very nice house, Ralph,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“We like it too,” Ralph told her. 

Ralph rang the doorbell. His mother, Minnie, answered. 

“Ralph!” Minnie said, excited to see her son again. 

The two hugged. 

“Mom!” he said happily. 

He and his family walked into the house. 

“Mom, I would like you to meet Karen’s mother, Shirley McCarey,” Ralph said, introducing the two elderly women. 

“I’ve heard so much about you,” Minnie told Shirley.

“Good things, I hope,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Yes, they are,” Minnie said. 

“Mom, where’s Dad?” Ralph asked. 

“He’s upstairs. He’ll be down soon.” 

“Okay. I want to say hi to him.” 

“You will,” she said. 

A few minutes later, Mickey Malph came down into the living room. 

“Dad!” Ralph said, going to the stairs to greet his father. 

“Ralphie!” Mickey said and father and son hugged. 

“Want to meet Karen?” Ralph asked his father. 

“Sure,” Mickey said. 

“Shirley, I want you to meet my dad,” Ralph told his mother – in – law. 

Introductions finally made between Mickey Malph and Shirley McCarey. Dinner finally put on the table. 

“You two behave yourselves,” Karen told Norman and Jay. 

The boys did not say anything to her. 

“I like your dress,” Minnie complimented Shirley. 

“Thank you. I have had it for a few years. I don’t wear it very often,” Mrs. McCarey told Minnie as everyone sat down to help him or herself to dinner. 

“I wish I had a dress like that,” Minnie told her. 

Mickey rolled his eyes. He knew the dress Karen’s mother was wearing had good material and it would be something his wife would wear. 

“I hear it’s supposed to rain tonight,” Ralph said, changing the subject of clothes. 

“How much?” Karen asked. 

“I don’t know. I didn’t get much of it on the Weather Channel earlier,” Ralph answered.

“We can check later if you want,” Karen said. 

“No, that’s okay. Not important.” 

That is when Ralph noticed Jay, the youngest, was being a bit fussy. 

“Stop that,” Ralph whispered to his son. 

“What’s he doing?” Karen asked Ralph. 

“Being picky.” 

Karen told Jay he was supposed to eat everything on his plate or no dessert that night. 

“If you eat everything, you get stronger,” Karen told him. 

“Your mother’s right,” Ralph agreed. 

Everyone went from conversation to conversation that night at dinner, and Ralph and his father took turns telling jokes and even used some jokes they did from the past. The women and the children laughed at the jokes. Before everyone knew it, it was getting late and the kids were getting tired and cranky. 

“I guess it’s time for us to leave, Mom,” Ralph said to his mother. 

“We did have fun,” Karen agreed, standing up from the kitchen table. 

“So did we. We should do this more often,” Minnie Malph told her.

“We should. Right?” Karen asked. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. 

“It's great seeing you guys again,” Ralph said giving his parents one last hug on their way out of the house. 

Mickey followed them out of the house. 

“We’ll see you again soon, Ralphie,” Mickey said, opening the car doors for Karen and the boys. 

“Bye, Dad. Tell Mom dinner was excellent tonight.” 

“I will.” 

He shut the passenger door and the back door as soon as Karen and the children got into the car. Mickey waved as soon as the engine got started. Ralph waved as soon as he drove away from the driveway. Mickey stayed out for a while longer before going back into the house. He already knew his son was long gone.


	68. Chapter 68

It was 10:15 that night when Ralph and Karen got to their house. The boys were sleeping in the backseat when they pulled into the driveway of their house. 

“Already? I didn’t know we were going to be gone this long,” Karen said, giving a yawn.

“If you don’t mind, Karen, I’d be happy to put the boys to bed,” Ralph said. 

“Good idea. I’ll save your spot in bed tonight,” Karen said. 

“I like the idea. Warm it up,” Ralph told her. 

“Okay. I will.” 

Karen took the house keys out and unlocked the house and then walked inside and got ready changed into her pajamas. Karen got under the covers and waited for about fifteen to twenty minutes for Ralph to get into bed. She did not mind it if he took a while to get ready for bed. 

After Ralph got under the covers that night, he turned the lights out that were by his side of the bed and then he and Karen gave each other a kiss. 

“Night,” he told her. 

“Night, Ralphie. Tonight was fun. I’m sure Mom enjoyed it.” 

“I’m sure she did. I guess the kids had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa.” 

“I’m sure they did. I’ll see you in the morning, Ralphie.” 

“See you in the morning, sweetcakes.” 

That is when they both fell asleep after hitting the pillow. Karen knew tonight was a fun night for sure.


End file.
